Electronic Health Records For Dummies

Sharing information as required and recommended

One of the most challenging aspects of your EHR adoption is sharing information that you’re required to share and information that’s in your patients’ best interests to share. With EHR, several stakeholder groups — including patients, other providers, and state and federal organizations — expect you to share information. An atmosphere of open communication can get your patients on board with the EHR move and reduce their e-anxiety. Additionally, by providing key clinical information to other providers, physicians, and hospitals, you can significantly improve the care of your patients and reduce the opportunity for medical errors.

Include patients on the ground floor of EHR adoption by providing information about the upcoming changes and their affect on patients. Relay information in a variety of ways: signage in the office lobby and exam rooms, flyers, and communications sent with bills as well as engaging patients in conversation while you perform tasks. For example, you might tell new patients when they fill out their HIPAA form that, in the future, they may provide an electronic signature for HIPAA consent online.

Table 1-2 outlines some of the information that you can share and with whom you can share it based upon Stage 1 Meaningful Use criteria.

Table 1-2 Sharing the Wealth of Information
Stakeholder	Information