New Medical Record Policy
Beginning on February 15, 2007, in compliance with a new policy approved by the Johns Hopkins Hospital Medical Board, health care providers at University Health Services will enter patient medical records into the Hospital’s electronic patient record (EPR). The policy, which applies to medical records for all patients admitted to the Hospital or seen at its clinics, is required of all Johns Hopkins Hospital physicians and staff.
During its history, UHS has kept its commitment to maintain strict patient confidentiality of its paper medical records, allowing them to be seen only by treating providers working for the clinic. In recent years, this confidentiality protection became law through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
With the new policy requiring providers to electronically enter medical information into EPR within 30 days of a patient encounter, UHS remains committed to protecting the confidentiality of all 6,000 of our patients from the schools of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health, Hospital residents and fellows, and their dependents.
Your records will be treated, and your privacy protected, in the same manner as that of every other Johns Hopkins patient, including faculty physicians, whose records are also maintained in EPR.
As with any record-keeping system, there is no failsafe protection of personal health information. UHS is aware that students in their clinical years, residents and attending physicians have unrestricted access to EPR. The Hospital and its’ HIPAA compliance office routinely monitor EPR activity to safeguard against any unauthorized access of a patient’s protected health information, and it investigates any complaints of such misuse of EPR privileges.
Anyone who, after a thorough investigation, is found to have inappropriately accessed a patient’s record will be disciplined, which could include expulsion or termination. The Johns Hopkins Hospital takes all such incidents very seriously.
If you, as a UHS patient, are authorized to use EPR, you can access your own patient record and see a log listing everyone who has looked at your record and when they accessed it. You also have the right and responsibility to report such activity and demand that anyone who has done so without authorization is disciplined.
Those of you who may be involved in patient care realize the benefits of an electronic medical record. Such a record allows physicians to readily access the information they need to provide better care, minimizes the probability of medical errors and maximizes patient safety. It is in this spirit that the Johns Hopkins Hospital has reached this decision.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this new policy, please email Charlene Phipps at cphipps@jhmi.edu.
