There are many considerations when physicians move to electronic data management systems.  When it comes to medical records, there are many layers of regulations which impact these decisions – HIPPA, Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, local, state and federal statutes to name but a few.  Then there are the inevitable medico-legal concerns related to malpractice.  Yet, tort reform is nowhere to be found in any bill related to reforming health care among the four or five versions the Congress has drafted to date.  They seem to be missing a big piece of the puzzle.  Are we really surprised at that? . . .  jomaxx

Experts discuss archiving patients’ emails

Physicians incorporating email into their practices might have to…enter the unfamiliar territory of email archiving.   An email is a written record, and it must be maintained if it is considered a health record.  Depending on your type of electronic medical record system, you might not have to worry about archiving as some systems automatically enter emailed information into a patient’s file.  Archiving will have to be done manually for those physicians who don’t have fully functional EMRs.  No matter which emails physicians deem important enough to be archived, the policy needs to be consistent.

Don’t toss all your practice’s e-mails in the virtual trash – http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/05/18/bica0518.htm

Patient emails: are providers ready for this growing trend – http://www.therogerslawfirm.com/documents/Patient%20Emails%20–%20Are%20Providers%20Ready%20for%20This%20Growing%20Trend.pdf

Important Information About Provider/Patient Email – http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/hipaa/policies/docs/cumcimptinfo_provider.pdf