The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released the ONC Guide to Getting and Using Your Health Records .
This patient-focused resource supports the 21st Century Cures Act, which aims to empower patients by improving access to their electronic health information.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ electronic health record (EHR) incentive program required hospitals and physicians to help patients access EHRs using a patient portal, but it was a struggle for the majority of hospitals and physicians to meet the minimum meaningful use requirement threshold. Eventually CMS relaxed requirements to only address that providers offered an EHR patient portal feature and that patients were aware of it.
Empowering patients to access their health information continues to be a major focus for the ONC outlined in the My Health E Data Initiative, announced last month by CMS Administrator Seema Verma. The new ONC guide also supports this goal.
Don Rucker, national coordinator for health information technology, said, “It’s important that patients and their caregivers have access to their own health information so they can make decisions about their care and treatments. This guide will help answer some of the questions that patients may have when asking for their health information.”
An ONC April 2018 Data Brief showed that only three in 10 individuals that were offered access to their online electronic medical record viewed it. Despite the low number, it is a large improvement from the engagement during the CMS EHR Incentive program.
