Healthcare Purchasers Support Actions to Provide Patients with Electronic Access to their Complete Health Record

SAN FRANCISCO, March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pacific Business Group on Health, a coalition of large public and private sector purchasers of health care, has announced its strong support for proposed federal actions in support of patient access to their health information. 

Large healthcare purchasers devote substantial resources to helping their employees and families obtain effective, coordinated healthcare.  In today's fragmented health care system, few patients can look to one doctor or hospital who has all of their health records and takes accountability for the efficient and appropriate use of resources to manage their care.  PBGH and its members know that while each patient and family bears responsibility for their health behaviors and their health care decisions, they cannot make good decisions unless their health information is available to them and their providers in an accessible and timely way.  For over a decade, PBGH has actively supported federal efforts to encourage adoption of electronic health records and health information exchange to address the persistent failure to make key information available to healthcare decision-makers across the continuum of care. 

We strongly support policies that allow every patient to have access to her own health record and to share that information however she wishes, supported by proper and transparent disclosures on how that data may be used. In addition, PBGH believes that it is critical for health data to be liberated from institutional silos, aggregated across payers and providers, and made available for analysis of health outcomes, quality of care, provider network design, payment, and consumer incentives. 

We welcome today's announcements by CMS of several measures to encourage the sharing of health information with patients and, with proper safeguards, with health care providers and others.  We know that widespread, appropriate access to health information can enable higher quality, more efficient care and PBGH members will continue to use the health care purchasing strategies available to them to encourage additional steps in this direction.

About the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH)

The Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) is a non-profit business coalition focused on improving the quality and affordability of health care. The group represents more than 60 large employers and other health care purchasing members, who provide coverage to nearly ten million individuals in the United States. PBGH supports some of the largest companies in the country in implementing innovative solutions to improve health care outcomes and value. Learn more at pbgh.org.

Contact: 
Marybeth Sharpe
415.615.6379 | [email protected]

SOURCE Pacific Business Group on Health

Related Links

http://pbgh.org