Wed. May 8th, 2024

I have always been a little bothered by EHRs selling doctor and patient data. In the FFS, it is happening all the time. Here are some example articles:

And..

There is HUGE money in this data. So, the question for you is, “Is your DPC EHR selling you and your patient’s data?”

I asked Josh Umbehr, MD about Atlas and he says there is nothing in his contract allowing them to sell data. He promises that docs own all their own information. (If someone sees something else in their contract then contact me).

But what about others? Look at the first article on Amazon. Do you think they will be mining and selling One Medical’s data?

But all this got me thinking. If you don’t have Atlas (I have no allegiance to any company and Atlas does not advertise here) then have you checked your EHR contract? Recently, this line from a DPC EHR company contract was sent to me:

Provider will provide XXXXXX access to utilization data, administrative data, and/or aggregated medical records if needed to administer the provision of this Agreement based on its participation in any Direct Care Services Agreement.

That provision sure makes it seem like some third parties are getting access to you and your patients’ information. (I will keep the name of the company private but you can check your contract to see if you have a similar stipulation.)

Here are my questions:

  • Does this bother you?
  • Does this sway you on whether to use that EHR?
  • Have you even looked at your EHR contract?

I am not trying to start a war here and, again, I have no “favorite” EHR. I am using this DPC News platform to be a voice for the purity of Direct Primary Care. Personally, I have not seen any benefit over the years from companies using EHR data. And when I used to pitch my DPC practice to patients, it was a selling point that their data was 100% private. So, I am in favor of keeping this information from other “wanting” parties.

What is your opinion?

116510cookie-checkWhat’s In Your EHR Contract? And Should the EHR Company Be Allowed to Sell Your Data?
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By Douglas Farrago, MD

Douglas Farrago MD is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. He is the inventor of a product called the Knee Saver which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He is also the inventor of the CryoHelmet used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers. From 2001 – 2011, Dr. Farrago was the editor and creator of the Placebo Journal which ran for 10 full years. Described as the Mad Magazine for doctors, he and the Placebo Journal were featured in the Washington Post, US News and World Report, the AP, and the NY Times. Douglas Farrago, MD received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree in the area of Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. Dr. Farrago has practiced family medicine for twenty-three years, first in Auburn, Maine and now in Forest, Virginia. He founded Forest Direct Primary Care in 2014, which quickly filled in 18 months. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago’s has written three books on direct primary care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice, The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal and Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) are all best sellers in this genre. He is a leading expert in direct primary care model and lectures medical students, residents, and doctors on how to start their own DPC practice. He retired from clinical medicine in October, 2020.

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