In honor of Patient Recognition Week, which starts February 1 this year, we want to recognize patients as the most important member of the healthcare ecosystem. Every member of the ecosystem, from providers to payors and healthcare technology providers like Sharecare, focus 100% of our efforts to create a true and meaningful partnership to enable the highest quality of life for the entire patient population.
The Evolving Role of Patients in Healthcare
Patient Recognition Week was first launched in 1995, to acknowledge that patient satisfaction is a critical part of care, and as a reminder that the patient plays a key role in their individual healthcare. While in prior eras patients were expected to sit back passively and let the providers make all the decisions, our current healthcare philosophy has evolved. We now know that a patient who takes an active role in wellness and treatment plans have better outcomes and are happier with their care.
At Sharecare, our focus is patient-centered solutions, delivered with the latest tools and technologies that enable patients to manage their healthcare all in one place. This includes clinical condition management, medical record request fulfillment, as well as health & wellness and education solutions delivered directly to patients, anywhere and anytime. Our solutions foster partnerships between providers and their patients to deliver value-based care.
Secure, Rapid Access to Medical Records Boosts Patient Satisfaction, Supports Continuity of Care
A critical aspect to managing ones’ health is the medical records request fulfillment process. One of the biggest challenges in healthcare is treating patients without a complete medical history. An incomplete healthcare history presents an enormous risk to the healthcare provider, but more importantly for the patient. According to a study conducted by Johns Hopkins, 44% of deaths attributable to medical error were preventable – and some of these deaths are due to missing health data.
When a patient requests access to their medical records, whether to submit proof of vaccination for school registration, to transmit to other healthcare providers as a part of their care, or to provide medical history for a prospective life insurance policy, they want that record to be provided quickly and securely, with full protections in place for their personal health information (PHI) and private identifiers.
Requesting medical records can be a time-consuming, bureaucratic, stressful experience. Delays or mistakes in record release only add to the stress a patient may experience in these situations. That’s why rapid, accurate release of information (ROI) can be so important to patient satisfaction, as well as to their continuity of care as they access multiple care teams to address complex medical issues.
Sharecare Health Information Management solutions include HIPAA-compliant ROI services. We lead the industry in both quality and turnaround time. Our entire workforce is CRIS-certified (Certified Release of Information Specialist), so you can be sure that your patient’s PHI is well-protected and HIPAA-compliant.
All of Us Are Patients, Too!
As we in the healthcare ecosystem celebrate Patient Recognition Week, it’s important to remember that all of us – providers, payors, technology providers – are also patients ourselves. One of the best ways to serve patients better is to ask yourself what you would want from your own healthcare teams. That’s why at Sharecare, our patient-centered approach to medical record release has always been simple: we treat every medical record as if it were our own.