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Can anyone offer guidance on the subject of patient access to health records at SNF/LTC facilities or the impact of the recently enacted Cures Act?
Information/communication flow is inherently slow, often incomplete and lacks transparency. Providers/staff are not often readily available or prepared to with details. HIPPA allows 30 days on formal requests. The Cures Act seems to require sharing via EHR (Electronic Health Records). SNFs already use EHR. However, they have not enabled the patient portals, which pull info from the EHR for patient, family, outside provider use. Use of a patient portal would improve information flow and accuracy.
Again, only looking for guidance from anyone familiar with SNF use of EHR & patient portals and hopefully the related requirements under the Cures Act.
I see a related question concerning nursing homes not using patient portals. "What type of computer/patient portals do nursing homes use? Facility seems to be lacking/withholding info. - AgingCare.com"
Thanks in advance.

Hi again, backer:
Your last thread was closed to comment, but I think perhaps we do NOT know of any Extended Care Facilities currently using the open portals systems that many hospitals use. They are exceptionally expensive to run; kind of cannot imagine how much they would bump up the cost of already costly care in the elderly. As things progress with tech I would think we will see a lot of progression.

I am not familiar with the CURES act, but think that it must not require such a thing currently, or we would be seeing it. Since you seem quite familiar with CURES act, can you tell me if it is federal or state, and if it gives a number of years to allow ECFs to comply?

Meanwhile, I hope if someone--ANYONE--here has an extended care place that is using these portals they will chime in for you.

I do think if you have asked the admins where you are if they have such a system, and they say they do not, then you are basically left with judging the overall care of your facility and deciding whether or not your loved one can stay within the current choice.
You might consider calls to local ECFs to see who might have such a system as well.

Good luck.
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