While IAS is in its infancy, here are 4 real-world scenarios where Individual Access Services (IAS) will directly benefit patients in the near future:
Addressing barriers to accessing cancer care
When a patient is diagnosed with cancer, they are often referred to an oncologist, surgical oncologist, or radiation oncologist. All too often, cancer is diagnosed at advanced stages, when treatment decisions need to be made eminently Many cancer centers and oncology specific care providers will not schedule a new patient appointment without first receiving any relevant medical records. Similarly, patients seeking a second opinion or tumor board need to aggregate all relevant medical records in order to present the most comprehensive decisions on confirming a diagnosis or treatment recommendations. There is significant patient administrative burden associated with patients aggregating their health information to enable new patient on-boarding, second opinions, and tumor board discussions.
In the near future, IAS could be an easy way to quickly retrieve all pertinent records at the touch of a few keystrokes and on the scale of seconds. I see a (very near) future where patients will be told: in the event of being diagnosed with cancer, download your records using IAS.
This is the future of a seamless cancer care experience where the patient doesn’t have to be a prisoner to waiting for access to their health information in order to make decisions about their care.
Ambulance and emergency response
If you’ve ever needed to call 911 for a loved one or perhaps found yourself being transported unexpectedly to the emergency room, it can be an overwhelmingly scary time. Having access to one’s health information is critical during these moments. Many patients may not know their whole medical history, their medications, or the names of their doctors. As care partners and caregivers, we may feel scared and overwhelmed, feeling unable to recall all the necessary information being requested by EMT’s.
As many emergency personnel may attest, access to health information is critical. I imagine a future where if an emergency strikes, patients and families and EMTs can have the authority to query for patient medical records. It may become good standard practice for all individuals to be identity verified through providers like Clear or ID.me, in order to be able to query for medical records should an emergency strike. When an emergency strikes, not only should you call 911, you should be able to pull the SOS lever and call on TEFCA as your emergency medical records provider.
Transfers of care
Some of the of the most frequently poorly coordinated transfers of care typically involve transfer of very sick, elderly, frail, or actively dying patients to a skilled nursing facility (SNF), hospice, or in-patient rehabilitation provider. Patients being discharged from the hospital often have a paper copy of discharge instructions and medical records tucked into a yellow envelope and handed to the transport driver or taped to them as they lay in the ambulette stretcher. Records get lost or misplaced and patients, families, and loved ones, as well as nursing and caregiving staff, are often unable to access them.
IAS could offer a way to bridge the gaps and enable patients, families, carepartners, patient navigators, patient advocates, community health workers, and social workers to play a critical quarterback role in delivering the latest medical records and health information to key players part of the care team at SNFs, in-patient rehabs, or hospice.
Care out of the country
If you think receiving medical care in the US is fragmented, imagine needing medical care while abroad?! Unexpected medical emergencies, illnesses, and injuries while travelling outside of the US can pose significant hardships, stress, and barriers to receiving comprehensive, safe care especially while trying coordinate care across foreign languages. IAS could offer individuals hope that should a medical emergency arise while on the go, their medical records are a few keystrokes away. IAS can supplement the work being done with the International Patient Summary.
