MMRGlobal, Inc. (fka MMRF)

[tbone1360]

Patients, Portals, and PHRs

Electronic health records (EHRs) can help physicians communicate better with their colleagues on the health care team - and with their patients, too, to better involve them in their own health care.

"Patient engagement" — improving patients' (and their families') understanding of their health so they are more likely to comply with your recommendations, and are better able to communicate important health information to you — has become a buzz-phrase in the health care industry.

In part, this is because patient engagement is among the goals of meaningful use under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs. Under meaningful use stage 1, five of the 25 criteria are related to engaging patients and families by providing patients an electronic copy of their heath record, a clinical summary, an appropriate reminder, electronic access to their record, and/or patient-specific educational resources.

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