DALLAS—Two Texas groups, the Health Information Technology (Health IT) Program at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and Jericho Systems Corporation will participate in a national pilot program designed to explore advanced patient control over shared medical records. The pilot, which was recently approved by members of an Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) working group, will focus on how patients can better control the release of their Protected Health Information (PHI) when their medical records are requested electronically from their healthcare provider.

The pilot will simulate the exchange of electronic medical records through a commonly used Internet specification called the eHealth Exchange (once known as the Nationwide Health Information Network Exchange). The simulated exchange will be augmented by adding a centralized repository where virtual patients can specify conditions under which their PHI can be electronically shared. The pilot also will explore how requests for a patient’s PHI can be reported back to the patient so that each patient can be aware of who is asking for their medical information.

By participating in the pilot, UT Austin’s Health IT faculty and students will gain valuable experience through proof of concept testing a centralized, consent directive repository that enables granular privacy control by the consumer over their electronic medical record.

“We view this pilot as an opportunity for our students and faculty to experience and contribute to the important process of developing standards-based, privacy controls that will be required to protect consumers’ medical data as access requests continue to escalate,” commented Dr. Leanne Field, director of UT Austin’s Health IT program. “In addition, by partnering with Jericho Systems and other participants in the pilot, our students will benefit from participating in applied research and will have the opportunity to develop real-world skills.”

Healthcare consumers currently cannot easily review electronic requests submitted remotely on the eHealth Exchange for their PHI or learn the outcome of those requests. The pilot will add transparency to the PHI exchange process by reporting each time that PHI has been released by the consumer's provider organization to requesting organizations. In addition, knowledge of who is trying to access PHI may also help future patients to identify possible medical identity theft or cases of mistaken identity that could impact their subsequent treatment.

UT Austin’s Health IT program and Jericho Systems are strong advocates of transforming the nation’s health IT system so that health professionals and researchers can electronically access complete and accurate health information. The experiences gained through proof of concept testing and validation of new technologies that strengthen patients’ control over their PHI will allow both organizations to join with other thought leaders to advance this critical area of health IT.

“With years of engagement with the healthcare standards community, Jericho is proud to support the ONC and advance the next generation of secure medical information exchange technology," said Brynn Mow, CEO of Jericho Systems.

Jericho Systems’ EnterSpace Exchange™ and EnterSpace Decisioning Service software were recently included in a SAMHSA-VA Phase I healthcare pilot of a “push” ecosystem, conducted at the Health Level Seven (HL7) Working Group on behalf of the ONC Data Segmentation for Privacy DS4P pilot working group.

About Jericho Systems Corporation

Dallas-based Jericho Systems Corporation provides enterprise-scalable access control, decisioning, and privilege management solutions, with its largest customers representing the healthcare, Department of Defense, intelligence, and homeland security communities. Jericho specializes in fine-grained, policy-based data filtering technology that supports dynamic, attribute-based access control (ABAC). Jericho’s EnterSpace Exchange PatientPortal™ was recognized as a “Best Privacy Technology of 2012” at the Second International Summit on the Future of Health Privacy.

About The University of Texas at Austin Health IT Program

The Health IT Program at The University of Texas at Austin is comprised of a unique combination of state-of-the-art facilities and focused educational programs including the nine-week certificate program designed to “fast track” university graduates into the rapidly evolving field of health IT. For more information on The University of Texas at Austin Health IT Program, please go to: https://healthit.cns.utexas.edu.