Gothenburg Health’s Health Information Management (HIM) department continued to strive for excellence through additional training and certification in 2023. 

With the encouragement of Lynn Edwards, HIM Director, all the staff received Continuing Education Units (CEU) to receive American Institute of Healthcare Compliance (AIHC) credentials concerning the release of information. Collectively they learned about new requirements for a patient’s access to records under the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology’s Cures Act Final Rule. It requires that patients have complete transparency into the cost and outcomes of their care. Patients are given immediate access to health data.

According to the ONC, when the Cures Act Final Rule is fully implemented at the end of this year, “putting the patient first means that health information technology should:

• Enable the patients to make choices that work for them by increasing transparency into the cost and outcomes of care,

• Allow patients to show for and understand their options in getting medical care,

• Provide patients with convenient, easy access and visualization of health information through smart phone apps,

• Support and ‘app economy’ that provides innovation and choice to patients, physicians, hospitals, payers, and employers.”

Angela Sattler, Sherri Schriver, Jeane Breuer, Lynn Edwards, and former staff member Amber Newton completed the online class together, which included four-five hours of course work and five tests. All five passed and received their certification.

Schriver said that learning the terminology and acronyms was challenging, but understanding how much in fines could be assessed was nerve wracking. It’s important to understand the process and what is required, she said.

Breuer said, “Because all of us have taken the course, we can help each other out. The benefit of all of us knowing the information is that anyone of us can accommodate a patient’s request so that there is no waiting.”

For more information about how to access your medical records at Gothenburg Health, visit www.gothenburghealth.org/patients-visitors/health-information-management.