LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Medical records: From frustration to optimism

“But doc, I just had blood tests done for my cardiologist a month ago! Do I need to get them again now? Why can’t you see the results?” says the new patient sitting in my exam room. As my medical assistant messages me that my next patient is waiting, I debate re-ordering the labs now versus waiting to get records, which could take days.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all of my patient’s medical records were in one place?

In New Mexico, we have a designated health information exchange (HIE) that does just that. Syncronys is a nonprofit organization powered by Orion Health that compiles results of labs, imaging, diagnostic tests and clinical notes from participating health care organizations and organizes them in a HIPAA-compliant searchable database.

Is it perfect? No. Many health care organizations do not participate, and sometimes the data is cumbersome to find. But it is better than waiting days or weeks for records to be sent, or logging into six different portals, or repeating tests because you don’t have results.

As a primary care doctor, I often see delays in patient care and duplicate testing because test results and clinic notes aren’t shared. This contributes to high cost and poor value health care, as well as physician “burnout.”

The 21st Century Cures Act federal regulation issued in May 2020 requires electronic exchange of health care records. Then why do physicians not have access to all of our patient’s medical records? We have found that many New Mexico physician groups and health care administrators are not aware that Syncronys exists. Some that are aware of it are unable to pay the costs that electronic health record (EHR) companies charge to upload records to Syncronys.

We are writing to increase public awareness that New Mexico has a designated health information exchange (HIE), Syncronys. We are also writing to encourage large health care organizations to share more types of records with Syncronys. And finally, to let policy-makers know that electronic health records (EHR) costs are a barrier to sharing records with Syncronys for some small medical practices.

We urge you to learn about New Mexico’s HIE, Syncronys, and discuss it with your health care providers and policymakers in order to increase awareness and utilization.

Kristy Riniker, MD, MPH, FAAFP, DipABFM and

Joanna Toews, MD, MPH