SMART Patient Access Brands

CommonHealth, one of our public services, is currently partnered with over 13,000 healthcare organizations that have implemented patient access standards set by the Department of Health and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. 

To improve patient access to crucial healthcare information, we believe that the implementation of a centralized directory is crucial. Imagine a scenario where a user wants to connect to their provider: The patient might know that the office is owned by a “Mercy Health”, but considering how many thousands of providers across the country share that name, and how often offices change names and parent organizations, it is easy to see how this patient might struggle to find their provider. With ongoing efforts to improve patient access, the development of a single directory will further enhance the patient experience in the future.

Patient Access Brands, which is part of the HL7 SMART Launch App Framework 2.2, provides a standardized way for healthcare organizations to share key details that make it easier to connect and improve the experience of users. The standard also lets organizations describe the often complex relationships between their various brands, networks, and affiliates. Implementing Patient Access Brands would go a long way to addressing some of these challenges. With patient details such as health system affiliations and contact information available, it would provide the digital address through which patients can access their health information. 

Through CommonHealth, users would also be able to search for providers in more ways, recognize results by more names, by logos, and locations, and overall have an easier time getting access to their records. Join us in encouraging healthcare organizations and the technology vendors that support them to adopt Patient Access Brands, making accessing health information a little easier for us all.