Overview#

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is Patient Data collected by ALL Health Care Providers and are inclusive of a broader view of a patient’s care.

Electronic Health Records, ideally, contain Patient Data from all Health Care Providers involved in a patient’s care and all authorized Health Care Providers involved in a patient’s care can access the information to provide care to that patient; Hopefully with Informed Consent.

• Electronic Health Records also share information with other Health Care Providers, such as laboratories and specialists.
• Electronic Health Records follow patients – to the specialist, the hospital, the nursing home, or even across the country.
• Electronic Health Record is Patient Data and considered Protected Health Information and Personally Identifiable Information by most parties.

Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) #

In order to efficiently capture and share Patient Data efficiently, Health Care Providers need an Electronic Health Record (EHR) that stores data in a Structured data format. Structured data allows Health Care Providers to easily retrieve and transfer Patient Data, and use the EHR in ways that can aid patient care.

CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) have established standards and other criteria for Structured data that EHRs must meet in order to qualify for use in the PI Programs (formerly the EHR Incentive Programs).

To avoid a Medicare payment adjustment or receive a Medicaid incentive payment, health care providers must use an EHR that is certified specifically for the PI Programs. CEHRT gives assurance to purchasers and other users that an EHR system or module offers the necessary technological capability, functionality, and security to help them meet the Meaningful Use criteria. Certification also helps health care providers and patients be confident that the electronic health IT products and systems they use are secure, can maintain data confidentiality, and can work with other systems to share information.

Information Blocking Attestation#

Providers participating in the PI Programs must attest to three statements to demonstrate that they have not knowingly and willfully taken action to limit or restrict the compatibility or interoperability of their CEHRT. Collectively, these statements are referred to as the "prevention of information blocking attestation." information blocking fact sheet.

Electronic Health Record vs Personal Health Record vs Electronic Medical Record #

• Electronic Health Record - is Patient Data collected by ALL Health Care Providers
• Personal Health Record (PHR) - is health information where patient Data and information related to the care of a patient is maintained by the patient.[2]
• Electronic Medical Record (EMR) - Patient Data collected by a single Health Care Provider

FHIR-based API?#

Several leading Electronic Health Record vendor organizations have jointly developed an API standard to help health IT developers build software products that integrate information from multiple Electronic Health Record systems. It’s called Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, or FHIR. Building FHIR-based APIs helps provide better access to health information.

Electronic Health Record technologies that support FHIR-based APIs can tap into the growing market of apps more readily than traditional health IT systems. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology actively encourages the development of FHIR-based APIs.

More Information#

There might be more information for this subject on one of the following:

• Clinical Data
• DirectTrust
• EHR
• Electronic Medical Record
• Epic Systems Corporation
• Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources
• Health Information Services Provider
• Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health
• Health information
• Meaningful Use
• OpenEHR
• Patient Data
• Patient matching
• Personal Health Record
• The Next Big Thing
• Web Blog_blogentry_281018_1

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• [#1] - Frequently Asked Questions-www.healthit.gov/ - based on data observed: 2015-08-23
• [#2] - Personal health record - based on data observed: 2015-08-23
• [#2] - 2.3 Use APIs to ease information exchange - based on information obtained 2018-10-28-