First things first: What is the Cures Act?
ONC’s 21st Century Cures Act (law) puts patients in charge of their health records, making it a key element in patients controlling their healthcare. Stakeholders associated with Cures Act (CA) are doctors, hospitals/facilities, and health IT developers.
But it’s the patient who’s at the center of the CA, since the CA puts them in charge of their health records.
Putting patients first also promotes:
- competitive options in getting medical care
- transparency into the cost and outcomes of their care
- smartphone apps (see below for the Medics Me app) supporting convenient access to their records
What the Cures Act Final Rule Means for Patients
- Ease of Access to Their Records: Patients will be in control of their health care and their medical records through smartphones and apps.
- Protecting Patient Privacy and Security: The apps will enable patients to receive data from their medical records with OAuth 2 - the same highly secure protocol used on travel and banking apps - to secure CA apps (such as the Medics Me app)
- Promoting the Ability to Shop for Care and Manage Costs: Patients will have a choice in health care by increasing the availability of data that can support insights about care quality and costs. And, apps will deliver information to patients and payers to assist in making decisions.
What the Cures Act Final Rule Means for Clinicians and Hospitals
- Making Patient Data Requests Easy and Inexpensive: Clinicians and hospitals/inpatient facilities will easily provide patients with access to their information in a fully automated, low-cost manner. Secure, standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) allow for this access without special effort on the part of the clinician. (The Medics Me app will accommodate this.)
- Implementation: The CA prohibits information blocking and defines what are considered reasonable and necessary activities that would not constitute information blocking. The Final Rule establishes exceptions to allow clinicians and hospitals common-sense operational flexibility, including protecting patient privacy and security as well as handling situations where moving data is technically infeasible.
- Improving Patient Safety: The Final Rule aims for a thoughtful balance between patient and clinician needs. For example, it encourages transparency around patient safety issues
How ADS is meeting the requirements of the 21st Century Cures Act
- ADS is committed to certifying our MedicsCloud EHR for the 2015 Edition Cures update as proposed by the ONC by December 31, 2022.
- As part of the 2015 Edition Cures update real-world testing requirement, we created a test plan to demonstrate interoperability and functionality in real-world settings and scenarios. Our testing compliance has been published as per the Real World Testing scenarios on CHPL: MedicsCloud EHR
- By certifying as such, practices can meet the compliance requirements set by CMS for various incentive initiatives such as MIPS, Primary Care First, PCMH, and the 2022 Medicare/Medicaid Promoting Interoperability program’s requirements.
- Our patient-mediated exchange - the Medics Me app - is designed to meet the specific requirements of the CA, which means you’ll comply by using the MedicsCloud EHR and with your patients using the Medics Me app.
Much more detailed information on the CA and its Final Rule can be seen by visiting the CMS website. But implementing the MedicsCloud EHR and the Medics Me app will easily simplify the overly complicated and ensure you comply with the CA at the same time!
