Chelsea Richwine
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Chelsea Richwine's Latest Blog Posts
Physicians have Widespread Access to State PDMP Data, but Data Sharing Varies Across States
Chelsea Richwine | April 6, 2023
A recent ONC blog post showed physicians have widespread access to data from their state’s prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). According to a 2021 national survey of office-based physicians, more than three-quarters of physician prescribers reported checking the PDMP prior to prescribing controlled substances to a patient for the first time. Prescriber use laws and ongoing efforts to integrate electronic health record (EHR) systems with state PDMPs likely contributed to high levels of PDMP use among physicians.
Read Full Post.Flipping the Script: Leveraging EHR Data to Inform Clinical Burden Reduction Approaches
Chelsea Richwine | February 6, 2023
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a strategy to reduce regulatory and administrative burden relating to the use of health IT, including electronic health record (EHR) systems. Key burden reduction goals addressed in the report include reducing the amount of time and effort required to record information in EHRs to meet regulatory requirements and improving the usability of EHRs.
Read Full Post.Evidence on the Growing Use of Health IT to Address the Opioid Epidemic
Chelsea Richwine | January 19, 2023
In the midst of a growing drug overdose crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians’ use of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) and electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) technology is critical to improving opioid prescribing practices, informing treatment decisions, and supporting safe and effective patient care. Recent efforts, such as mandating use of EPCS technology and integrating PDMPs into electronic health record (EHR) systems, aim to improve prescribing practices by increasing the utility of information contained in PDMPs and decreasing prescription diversion and doctor shopping.
Read Full Post.Disparities in Patient Access to Electronic Health Information: Insights from a National Survey
Chelsea Richwine | January 5, 2023
Patients have a right of access to their health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. Recent policy efforts aim to simplify and increase patient access to electronic health information (EHI), as easy access to health information enables patients to monitor health conditions, follow treatment plans, and find and fix medical record discrepancies. Patient access also plays a major role in promoting patient-centered care by enabling individuals to make more informed decisions about their health.
Read Full Post.Electronic Public Health Reporting among Hospitals & Physicians in the Year Prior to the Pandemic: Implications for Health Equity & Pandemic Response
Chelsea Richwine | August 18, 2022
The pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed gaps in the nation’s public health infrastructure that pose challenges to effective communication between health care providers and public health agencies. According to ONC analyses of nationally representative survey data from hospitals and physicians collected in 2019, over 70% of hospitals experienced at least one major challenge with electronic public health reporting and less than 1 in 5 primary care physicians—and about a quarter of pediatric and internal medicine primary care physicians—reported electronically exchanging data with public health agencies.
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