Getting your medical records should be easier than ever before. Information blocking continues to be a problem for records access, and a tangled web of agencies and unclear rules makes it hard to enforce these laws designed to benefit consumers like you and me.
One of the attractions of an Electronic Health Records system is supposedly the ability of clinicians to make records available to other providers. This is convenient, for example, if you are being referred to a cardiologist from your primary care doctor. Not too long ago the second clinic would have to request records from the first, who would in turn fax a stack of records to the specialist. Now it can be little more than a few clicks to transfer the same batch of medical records.
For you and me, we are supposed to be able to cheaply get copies of our medical chart simply by asking for it from our provider. Most clinics maintain their records in electronic format, so producing them is little more than a few clicks. There are any number of formats you can get them delivered: CD, thumb drive, or simply downloading them from a portal or link.
The thing is, there is an entire industry out there designed and built to generate millions of dollars to give people copies of their own medical records. These vendors bill folks hundreds if not thousands of dollars for records they are entitled to for a pittance. Such billing mechanisms may be considered information blocking, which is forbidden by the CURES act.
Patients may file federal complaints against vendors and health care providers for blocking access to medical records. The ban on information blocking is not enforced by any one agency, though: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT receives the complaints, the Health and Human Services’ Inspector General is authorized to investigate and crack down on information blocking, but the enforcement rules have not been finalized.
Until now, the lack of clarity is leading to confusion among patients, providers, and vendors, and for now the biggest losers are the patients.
