How Digitization of Patient Access Empowered Patients
By Chelsea Richwine – In 2024, more patients than ever before accessed their medical records online through web browsers and apps to manage their health – here’s why that matters.
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Collecting, Using, and Exchanging Data to Advance Health and Health Equity
From the Health IT Buzz Blog – As part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy’s vision of “better health enabled by data,” we are committed to advancing health equity and person-centered ways to promote the interoperable exchange of data on patients’ health-related social needs and broader social determinants and dynamic social drivers of health.
A Decade of Data Examined: Progress and Challenges in Electronic Public Health Reporting
By Chelsea Richwine & Wes Barker – The fourth post in our “A Decade of Data Examined” blog series highlights early efforts to incentivize electronic public health reporting by health care providers to support PHAs’ public health surveillance and ability to respond to current and future public health threats.
A Decade of Data Examined: The Evolution of E-Prescribing
From the Health IT Buzz Blog – The e-prescribing landscape continues to evolve and many positive advances have been made over the past decade. This blog post showcases the rapid growth in e-prescribing, steps taken towards laying the essential groundwork for the current state of e-prescribing, and what remains to be accomplished.
A Decade of Data Examined: Patient Access to Electronic Health Information
The world is better off and getting better, compared to popular opinion and what’s broadcast on the news, says Hans Rosling and his co-authors, using simple, comprehensive measures, in Factfulness. Sometimes taking a step back and looking at the big picture (and the data) is important.
Patient Preferences with Social Needs Information Sharing
By Catherine Strawley & Chelsea Richwine – Screening for patients’ health-related social needs can help providers more effectively coordinate patient care and connect patients to the resources they need. Social needs are social conditions—such as food insecurity, housing instability, and lack of reliable transportation—
Hospitals Collect and Receive Social Needs Data, but Usage Varies
From The Health IT Buzz blog – If left unaddressed, the social needs experienced by an individual may lead to poor health outcomes and more time spent in hospitals and interacting with the health care system. Hospitals, therefore, are uniquely situated to help address social needs and mitigate social risk factors by screening for…
Flipping the Script: Leveraging EHR Data to Inform Clinical Burden Reduction Approaches
By Chelsea Richwine – In 2020, the HHS released a strategy to reduce regulatory and administrative burden relating to the use of health IT, including EHR systems. Key burden reduction goals addressed in the report include reducing the amount of time and effort required to…
Disparities in Patient Access to Electronic Health Information
By Chelsea Richwine – Patients have a right of access to their health information under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Recent policy efforts aim to simplify and increase patient access to electronic health information, as easy access to health information enables patients to monitor…