Some Hospitals Hold Hostage the Medical Records of Their Patients

It may strike you as sour grapes that the president of a personal health record (PHR) company, is griping about hospital CEOs holding hostage the clinical data that they control. Mr. HIStalk recently published the following tidbit, quoting Colin Evans of Dossia (see: News 12/8/10):

Colin Evans, president and CEO of PHR vendor Dossia says ...HHS and the FTC need to make big providers and health plans stop holding the medical information of their patients hostage and using liability or privacy concerns as an excuse. He says they refuse to share patient information even when patients request it, hoping to forestall competition based on service, price, and quality. He also points out that lots of them are selling the data of their patients anyway or are using PHR information to display targeted ads.

In this particular case Evans is surely correct. The last thing that some hospital executives want is to provide their patients easy access to their own medical records. You can probably obtain a print-out or copy of some portion of your medical records if and when you request it. However, what is really required is all, or most, of one's record in an organized, electronic format. Evans is also correct when he says that these execs cite liability and HIPAA issues as the basis for their go-slow, uncooperative approach. The real reason, also cited by Evans, is anti-competitive. They don't want patients carrying these record to competing hospitals and running cost-comparisons of care (see: Comparing the Details of Hospital Charges in the State of Oregon). HIPAA gave patients the right to read and even amend their own medical records long ago (see: Should Patients Be "Allowed" to Read Their Medical Records?).

Although Evans calls for the HHS and FTC to force these executive to stop holding hostage the medical information of their patients, I view this as primarily as a consumer pressure issue. I would not look for relief from the large bureaucratic federal agencies. Instead, I believe that the solution lies with local groups interested in consumer rights.

The first thing for such groups to do would be to acquire a basic understanding of the rights given to patients under HIPAA. Here's a link to an HHS web site that can provide some useful information. Next, I would suggest that some members of a community request from a local hospital a complete copy of their medical records in electronic form in an easily accessible and understandable format such as a PDF file. This applies to hospitals that have an EMR. If and when a hospital is unwilling or unable to supply such copies of their electronic records, this fact should be made known in the community. I hasten to add here that some progressive health systems are making clinical records readily available via PHRs and I commend them for this (see: Three Million People Now Using Kaiser Permanente's PHR – My Health Manager). My complaint is with the hospitals that are dragging their feet on this issue.

Comments

[Medical software review]

think one of the greatest hurdles is overcoming misconceptions in the minds of regulators, doctors and patients alike. I just returned from a trip to Germany and colleagues there are amused about America's 3rd World-like medical records situation.

[electronic medical records]

Yeah! "I believe that the solution lies with local groups interested in consumer rights." Nicely said. Anyway, thanks for sharing this informative post. Looking forward for your next post.

-fern-

[Lena Chow]

Thanks Bruce! This is very informative and actionable.