Health data management can be a challenge, but the right tools and policies can help drive lasting success.
On one hand, you have a duty to protect patient privacy. On the other hand, you need an efficient data-sharing system to coordinate care between physicians and specialists.
Manual workflows can delay the flow of information between your departments. So, how do you manage health data without frustrating setbacks?
Learn how we enable faster, easier medical record sharing.
Automate the Release of Information to Simplify Health Data Management
Think about the release of information (ROI) as a finely tuned machine, where every cog represents a step in the record authorization and exchange process. If one step fails, the entire system grinds to a halt. As your business expands, manual health data management processes can slow growth and impose major challenges.
Automating ROI simplifies health data management by centralizing communications and strengthening patient security. For instance, our real-time status updates and white-glove support team help cut phone calls and faxes related to record requests by 90% and save your staff hours of productivity.
Changing federal and state regulations further complicate health data management. Automating the release of information with our experts makes it easy to stay compliant with complex regulations including:
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: These rules create the bedrock for patient privacy and safety, establishing record exchange and collection guidelines.
- The 21st Century Cures Act: Recent legislation prevents healthcare providers from billing patients for their electronic health records.
- State Laws: Each state imposes its own rules related to patient privacy restrictions and requirements during the ROI process.
The Five Phases of Releasing Medical Records
The ROI process involves 40+ individual steps, which we’ve condensed into five phases. These include:
- Reviewing the Request Form
- Retrieving the Requested Records
- Confirming Accuracy and Completeness
- Releasing the Requested Records
- Sending an Invoice and Collecting Payment
Reviewing the Request Form
ROI begins with a formal request for documents. Remember, these requests can come from both patients or their legal representatives. Physicians outside your network may also request documents if your patient seeks additional treatment options elsewhere.
Your team must verify key elements of the HIPAA authorization form, such as the requestor’s identity and the validity of their request. This includes:
- A valid ID (name, birth date, and possibly SSN)
- Reasons for the request (seeking a new provider, legal inquiry, or treatment)
- Powers of attorney or other documents that authorize access to records on behalf of someone else
- Patient consent signatures
- Date of the signature
Sometimes, you may need the requestor to amend their forms to align with legal guidelines before approving them. This problem might occur if the requestor fails to provide complete and accurate details.
Retrieving the Requested Records
Your staff should have adequate training to pull records from EHR systems, legacy platforms, and paper files. Incompatible data systems may delay the delivery of complete documents. In the worst-case scenario, a requestor might file a complaint for information blocking if you don’t provide the correct records on time.
Confirming Accuracy and Completeness
Human error during health data management can occur at any point during the retrieval phase, such as pulling records of a patient with a similar name or missing key dates. Proper quality assurance policies can help prevent your practice from sending incorrect or incomplete data to requestors.
For example, requests processed by the ChartRequest team utilize a double-QA standard that requires two humans to confirm completeness and accuracy.
Releasing the Requested Records
Once your team or our team verifies the request details and reviews the records for compliance, you can deliver these records to the individual. Always ensure that your delivery methods are secure and confidential.
Never conduct record exchanges or health data management in unsecure spaces. Networks without password protections are especially vulnerable to cyberattacks and theft.
Sending an Invoice and Collecting Payment
Document each transaction for auditing purposes and process any associated fees. Billings for paper records, MRIs, and X-rays may vary depending on your state laws. Never overcharge a patient for their medical records, or your practice may be subject to financial penalties.
Potential Issues With Inefficient Health Data Management
The release of information process can cause issues if your practice relies on manual workflows and outdated systems for health data management.
Lost Time and Administrative Expenses
Manual processes are labor-intensive. Depending on your organization’s size, you may require several people to perform the following administrative tasks:
- Sifting through paper records
- Verifying requests
- Manually reviewing compliance standards
- Communicating with other providers or custodians
- Individually billing requestors for certain records
These tedious methods take time away from critical tasks and increase overhead cost.
Release of Information Breaches and Errors
Outdated systems increase the likelihood of reporting errors and accidental disclosures. Violating HIPAA and other healthcare laws can result in steep fines and corrective measures.
For example, Montefiore Medical Center paid a $4.75 million HIPAA settlement — the highest in 2024 — for inadequate risk analysis and action after a security breach.
Scalability Problems
Record requests will increase as your practice expands. Recent reports indicate that global healthcare data will grow by 36% by 2025 due to digitization and increased patient interaction.
Manual systems cannot manage this volume. Health data management inefficiencies can create a massive backlog for your staff that leads to burnout and patient frustration.
Don’t wait until your medical records department is drowning in requests to explore solutions.
Protect the Right to Access Medical, Imaging, and Billing Records
We know you care about your patients’ needs. Still, you might hesitate to authorize full access to their records.
If your current ROI process gives you anxiety, remember your patients are active participants in health data management. In most cases, the HIPAA privacy rule guarantees patients the right to access their medical information.
The Right of Access Initiative further strengthens this by enforcing a 30-day deadline for the release of information.
Non-compliance can lead to significant HIPAA fines and exclusion from federal programs. Healthcare authorities may also impose corrective action plans for gaps in health data management.
ChartRequest helps ease these risks by working with all certified EHR systems on the market to mitigate EHR interoperability issues and bridge the gap between different types of health data. By exploring partnership options to fit your practice, you can ensure fast access, easy compliance, and scalable growth.
Learn how we can streamline your medical record management with a personalized solution.
