News: Medicare announces new health record system to ease record sharing between patients and providers
Medicare enrollees will be able to export their medical records to their doctor or hospital soon, as per a new program launched last week by CMS.
Amy Gleason, acting administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency and a senior advisor at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), referred to this as the “first real milestone” in the Health Tech Ecosystem at the White House, a program which has 60 companies signed up to pledge to work alongside the government to deliver healthcare solutions.
The system allows patients to use a cellphone app which creates a QR code, allowing them to share their medical records directly with a provider. To share the record, the patient first uses an existing identification app, such as login.gov, id.me, or CLEAR, to authenticate themselves. Then, “it goes straight into their electronic health record.”
“Right now, our health information still feels stuck in the past,” Gleason told reporters. "It's really frustrating when you walk into your doctor's office and they hand you a clipboard for you to recount every part of your medical history, sometimes when you've given that dozens of times before, maybe even at the same office, and especially after we've had 20 years of interoperability work. It's really frustrating to have that still happening."
The apps highlighted in the Medicare App Library all undergo a certification process and must agree to abide by the CARIN Code of Conduct, which serves as a framework for easy-to-understand privacy policy and data, “so that patients, by nature, are protected,” explained Gleason.
Additional concerns about whether patients’ information could be used for AI training were raised. All participating companies have agreed to put their AI in a separate, private space and will not use patients records for AI training. Part of the CARIN code of conduct includes prohibiting companies from selling data.
Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will explore cybersecurity for new software, an important step in protecting patients, explained FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH: “When we think about new technology, we get excited, but at the FDA, the first thought we have is safeguarding the public. And so that's why we're developing very, very strong criteria to ensure optimizing cybersecurity.”
Editor’s note: To read CMS’ press release, click here. To read additional coverage from MedPage Today, click here.