HealthPort, the third party records provider used by two District of Columbia-based hospitals sued for allegedly overcharging for electronic health record copies, has outlined to FierceEMR the complexities regarding disclosure management that the plaintiffs "either ignored or of which they are unaware," according to Jan McDavid, HealthPort's General Counsel.
Each step of the disclosure management process must be conducted regardless how the medical records are stored, and most electronic records actually require some additional steps over hard copy records, such as compiling records from different source systems and redacting information not specifically authorized. HealthPort had set its fees for record copies based on an independent cost study, which is in the process of being expanded.
"Plaintiffs' claims ... that the use of electronic records has drastically reduced the costs of performing the disclosure management process are simply a layman's supposition, and a refusal to become educated about the facts," she told FierceEMR.