Develop early-game policies to enable patient access to medical records

Why This Topic Matters

Patient access requests involve coordination across multiple teams and information systems. The article gives health information management and compliance professionals an overview of operational areas relevant to access workflows and organizational planning.

Article Sections

1. Access requests begin early

   This section covers how requests may enter an organization through different departments and the role of staff awareness in the intake process.

2. Audit the process, not just the paperwork

   This section discusses auditing records related to access requests and the review of denial and extension communications.

3. Uncover hidden bottlenecks via workflow data

   This section addresses the use of workflow trends and request data to examine operational performance.

4. Fulfilling requests goes beyond the EHR

   This section considers the range of clinical systems and information sources that may be relevant to a medical-record request.

5. Show the operational story behind patient access

   This section covers operational metrics, organizational planning, and federal enforcement activity related to patient access.

6. Map the entire request life cycle

   This section discusses evaluating the request process from intake through fulfillment, including consideration of vendor roles and workflow data.