Healthcare information systems are built like 20th century power grids - they are designed to transport data across closed-ended, proprietary networks. There is no one solution to consolidate data across the billions of healthcare interactions that happen each year, because the current data exchanges are all scoped to a particular region, industry, corporation, government entity, or clinical use case.
Good News
OneRecord is connected to national and state health information networks that doctors use to send records to each other in different health systems and practices. Each year these networks are growing to facilitate the exchange of health information in real time to improve quality of care.
How does 'Search for records' work?
Step 1: In-Person Identity Verification & Authentication
Normally, when you check in for a doctor’s appointment the front deck administrator will ask to see your ID and proof of insurance. This is an example of in-person Identity Verification and Authentication.
The doctor’s office does this to confirm your identity for multiple reasons. They need to create an account for you (if you are a new patient), send a bill to your insurance company and to also access your patient chart (if you are an existing patient).
Then you are entered into the the doctor's office Practice Management System / Electronic Health Record System as a new patient with a unique ID attached to your account for all future appointments. That unique ID is used to match you when OneRecord 'searches' for your records!
Step 2: Remote Identity Verification & Authentication
Before we can let you search for your records through OneRecord we also need to check your identity. You can read more about this in our article dedicated to Identity Verification and & Authentication here.
Step 3: Searching for records!
A "message" is sent out across the networks. Searching each health system and provider practice enrolled on the networks for your data. If you visited any of these health care providers your data should be available via the networks to you as the patient. OneRecord will only pull in data that is 100% match to you. If the system is unsure, we will not request the records.
Step 4: Your Records were found!
When there is a 100% match on the network and there are records available - you will be notified that 'your records were found' and they will be deposited into your 'Documents' folder for your review before they are imported to your 'Master Health Record' with the rest of your data.
Note: Sometimes we don't find any records via 'Search for records' but we anticipate this to continue improving as we grow. So don't worry if no records are not returned - it just means we could not access them through 'Search' but we have other ways to get you your records!
Questions
If you have any questions or concerns please contact us via the "help button" in the bottom right hand corner of the screen or email us at support@onerecord.com.