What if ALL your docs can read ALL your records?

[pindoc]

What if ALL your docs/providers can read ALL your records?

Clinicians & patients: your opinion of open records

What if you, clinicians, could read ALL your patients' notes from ALL their providers?

What if ALL your doctors and providers, patients, could read ALL your records?

Say your spouse/partner died of cancer. Just hypothetically speaking, don't wish this on anyone ever. You go to grief counseling. Then you go to see your primary doctor. S/he can not only see that you went to mental health, but they can also read the psychotherapy notes.

This is not the wave of the future. This is now. 28% of all patients here in the States have records stored with one company. I won't name them b/c they're not a bad company. That's not my point and it's certainly not THE point. The professionals from this company, the folks I've already met, are exemplary professionals and very nice, to boot. The point IS - if you have medical records in MANY health care systems, when you see doctors in one region, then you move east across the country, the new place will probably ask for permission to see your records from the first place.

Once you give permission and the glass is broken, i.e. the virtual glass keeping them from seeing the records from your first care location, at that point, ALL providers in both places can see ALL your medical records. If you see interns and residents or stupid doctors in this scenario, they can see when you took antidepressants after your parents died. They can see that you were suicidal after you lost the job you'd had for 15 years. They can't JUST see that you went to counseling - they can read the psychotherapy chart notes.

Yes, this is perfectly legal. Nobody is breaking the law or doing anything wrong.

The clinic in which I work is about to choose a vendor for our transition to EMR/EHR, Electronic Medical/Health Records. We are at our final 2 choices. We are choosing b/w a larger company in which our providers, quite often, will not have the continuing concern of treating patients w/o knowing what was done at the clinic up the road. They will be able to see that info - after the patient gives permission. Our other choice is more specifically targeted at our health care niche, but we would still be more isolated as providers and have to jump through more hoops to have the info we really need to treat patients effectively.

I'm not the deciding vote, but I am on the taskforce making the choice and my input does count. We already had our post-demo debriefing, but the final choice has not been made. I really want to know what folks here think of this ever-growing reality and what your experience has been, both as providers and clinicians, and as patients. Thank you SO much for your input.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

You can get a copy of what the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) has on you, if anything:

Quote:

The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) is a central database of medical information shared by insurance companies. Approximately 15 million Americans and Canadians are on file in the MIB's computers. About 600 insurance firms use the services of the MIB primarily to obtain information about life insurance and individual health insurance policy applicants.When you apply for life or health insurance as an individual, you are likely to be asked to provide information about your health. Sometimes you are required to be examined by a doctor and/or to have your blood and urine tested. If you have medical conditions that insurance companies consider significant, the insurance company will report that information to the MIB.The information contained in a typical MIB record is limited to codes for specific medical conditions and lifestyle choices. Examples include codes to indicate high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, or depression. A code can signify participation in high-risk sports such as skydiving. A file would also include a code to indicate that the individual smokes cigarettes. The MIB uses 230 such codes.It's important to remember the following about the MIB:

The MIB is not subject to HIPAA.MIB files do not include the totality of one's medical records as held by your health care provider. Rather it consists of codes signifying certain health conditions.

A decision on whether to insure you is not supposed to be based solely on the MIB report.

The MIB is a consumer reporting agency subject to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). If you are denied insurance based on an MIB report, you are entitled to certain rights under the FCRA, including the ability to obtain a free report and the right to have erroneous information corrected. See the Federal Trade Commission's website on insurance decisions.

The MIB does not have a file on everyone. But if you have an MIB file, you will want to be sure it is correct. You can obtain a copy for free once a year by calling (866) 692-6901 (TTY for the hearing impaired (866) 346-3642) or by visiting the MIB's website.

In general the MIB can be contacted at Medical Information Bureau, P.O. Box 105, Essex Station, Boston, MA 02112, or by sending an email to infoline@mib.com Web: www.mib.com.

http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs8-med.htm