Cures Act – What it means for you
Cures Act – What it means for you
Background
The 21st Century Cures Act (“Cures Act”) is a bipartisan-backed law passed in December 2016 and implemented through rulemaking in 2020.
A key aspect of the Cures Act is the intention to give patients safe and secure access to health data so they can better manage their care and make more informed healthcare decisions.
To that end, rules issued under the Cures Act are designed to prevent “information blocking “, which is defined as anything formally restricting the access or use of electronic health information (“EHI”) through contracts or policies. It also prohibits unnecessarily slowing or delaying access or limiting the timeliness of access to EHI or charging for EHI.
As of April 5, 2021, health care providers must be ready to share certain electronic health records with patients and avoid claims of “information blocking” in violation of the rule.
Requirements for facilities
The Cures Act mandates that facilities provide residents and designated family members with secure, easy access to, and use of, their electronic health information from their medical record for free, using the smartphone app of their choice.
How’s Mom can help
The How’s Mom Connections Hub and How’s Mom Family App offer an easy, secure and customizable way to share health record data with residents and family members.
- Provide residents' health information to authorized family members (available for PointClickCare users only). Your facility decides which health records to make available to families.
- Medication Lists: Current list of medications
- Vitals : Numerous vital readings including temperature, blood sugar, weight, and more
- Conditions: Any change to current conditions and brief summary update of existing conditions
- Nutrition Orders: Listing of allergies and food restrictions. Updates on recent meals and consumption levels
- Allergies
- Nutrition
More info
We’ve created a comprehensive guide to all things Cures Act on our website. The legislation and rules apply to senior care providers, your IT systems and all other health care providers. Access the key resources to deep dive into the requirements that apply to you, with links to Federal government resources, including:
- Full 21st Century Cures Act legislation text
- Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology final rule
- CMS Interoperability and Patient Access final rule
The How’s Mom team is ready to help navigate the complexity of Cures Act patient access and CMS communication requirements. We can provide a live demo of the How’s Mom Connections Hub and How’s Mom Family App, as well.