JAMA Viewpoint: Framework is needed for engaging care partners

Healthcare systems could do more to identify and engage care partners—who don’t provide day-to-day care or serve as surrogate decision makers but do help chronically ill or elderly patients navigate healthcare and facilitate communication with physicians. According to a JAMA Viewpoint published January 6, organizations frequently create barriers to care partners trying to obtaining patient information, often citing privacy and security rules. Several steps could advance progress in this area, wrote Urmimala Sarkar, MD, MPH, and David W. Bates, MD, MSc.

Healthcare organizations need to routinely identify and document caregivers and care partners in their EHRs. In addition, meaningful use criteria should specifically detail the need for designated caregiver access, with federal support for standards in this area. The federal government should also support research for demonstration projects to understand how to best provide access to personal health records, and to assess the benefits of doing so, according to the authors.

Source: JAMA