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And transmissions by fax or spreadsheet can require workers to manually re-enter information into their computer systems, increasing the risk of errors or duplicate entries.Some public health officials say theyve been especially vexed by the ubiquity of fax machines, with their blurry printouts and analog data.

With each specialist who walked in the room and made us repeat his story, I bluntly and emotionally asked them: Didnt you read his chart? Didnt you talk to the other physicians?

Online resource to help clinicians answer questions about health IT

As the U.S. reckons with centuries of structural racism, an important step toward making health care more equitable will require transferring control of health records to patients and patient groups.

OpenNotes is invested in the Cures Act because clinical notes are among the information that must not be blockedand thus be made available to patients.

Given that many hospitals still rely on EHR-based CPOE systems provided by the systems vendor, its troubling to hear that patients could be at such risk. The current level of dangerous medication errors which are apparently slipping through the cracks is unacceptable.

Errors in electronic health records (EHRs) are common.1,2 At least half of EHRs may contain an error, many related to medications.2-8 Overburdened practitioners may import inaccurate medication lists, propagate other erroneous information electronically by copying and pasting older parts of the record, or enter erroneous examination findings.2,8,9 EHRs may also lack critical information (errors of omission) because of limited interoperability among health care sites.10 Among primary care physicians sharing notes with patients, 26% anticipated that patients would find nontrivial errors.11 Despite these known problems, systems for checking the accuracy of notes are almost nonexistent.

For example, we’re building community networks to electronically refer people to the social services they need. In the past, the process for making referrals was inefficient. We’d have to call or fax some of the agencies we work with. Bringing all of our community partners into a network creates a seamless experience for patients.

Patients want everything, according to Ashworth.“There wasn’t anything patients didn’t want access to,” she said. “Patients want access to everything.”

On another front, some entities also struggle with digital signature, she said.How do I know the patient has actually signed this request form when it is done digitally? McGraw asked. That I think is an open question that can be difficult to solve. But nevertheless, you have to have a way for people to be able to remotely request their information, because you cant require an in-person visit. The guidance makes this very clear.And finally, some covered entities still require patients to come in person to make a records request, she said. Even though guidance makes clear that an entity cannot require an individual to make a separate trip to the office to request access, she said