Dear fellow Oklahomans –
In May of 2021 Oklahoma SB 574 created OKSHINE – and in May of 2022, the State of Oklahoma passed SB 1369 which required ALL health care providers across the state of Oklahoma to report data by utilizing a State Designated Entity (SDE) for Health Information Exchange (HIE) beginning July 1, 2023.
The proposed policy changes are currently in effect as Emergency Rules and must be promulgated as Permanent Rules. The proposed changes are scheduled to be presented as Permanent Rules to the OHCA Board of Directors on March 22, 2023.
Very few providers across the state were aware of this bill until last week.
We would like to take this opportunity to tell you what we know, what we want you to know and how you can get active to fight this bill and protect mental health records.
From the OKSHINE website:
“OKSHINE connects providers throughout the state through our secure, online network to share patients’ virtual health records. Members include hospitals, ambulatory practices, ancillary services, behavioral health, specialty care providers, emergency medical services, social services organizations, and payers.”
The OKSHINE website goes on to share that the HIE will be accessible to Dept of Corrections, Dept of Human Services and even the Dept of Defense. These are NOT medical entities.
For those who are seeking mental health services, it is your RIGHT to the privacy of these services and your right to be free from bias based on the services you are seeking.
State law specifically states that mental health records have greater protections than regular medical records. (Oklahoma Statutes §43A-1-109 (2021) – Confidential and privileged information)
As an attendee of mental health services, you have a right to privacy and confidentiality. As providers, we have many concerns that this could create undue bias for clients with other providers and with the various social service organizations that the HIE has indicated they will give access to.
This law does not grant any additional safety or privacy that each client is not already promised under State and Federal law, Licensure rules and ethics and Professional Organizations Code of Ethics. This law does pose an INCREASED risk of client safety by compromising the privacy of their records.
OHCA and the HIE has stated that a client has the right to “opt-out” of this HIE; however, the opt-out form still must be submitted to OHCA/MyHealth; therefore still further violating the right to privacy and identifying the relationship between the client and the provider(s). The rules surrounding this law do not indicate the extent of information that will be shared or required to be shared.
This law requires ALL licensed providers to participate. Many solo/small practices like ours cannot afford the high fee to join the system and the monthly fees to continue to participate. For those who opt out of insurance and choose private pay services for added privacy, you are not protected by this law and your information must be shared. If mental health providers are not excluded from participating I will likely make some big decisions about my practice as I can neither afford financially or ethically to support this violation of privacy.
As constituents and members of the communities we serve, you deserve to be heard by your representatives as quickly as possible regarding this bill. You are welcome to contact them to let them know that you are not ok with your protected information being shared freely; and that you do not support a law that would force providers to choose between protecting your rights and protecting our license.
The media has portrayed the Health Information Exchange in a way that makes it sound like only other medical professionals would have access to your information. This is inaccurate as the Oklahoma Health Care Authority clearly lists the additional agencies that will be able to access your protected health information.
If you would like to advocate to have mental health excluded from this new law, write letters of concern to all of the OHCA board members and also to express your concerns directly to the Governor’s office, as he has the power to refuse to allow the policy to go into effect if the OHCA board does vote to approve it.
OHCA Contact Information
OHCA Board Members:
Marc Nuttle – Chairman
Alex Yaffe – Vice Chairman
Tanya Case
John Christ
Jeffrey Cruzan, M.D.
Corey Finch, M.D.
Phillip Kennedy
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Steve Miller – OHCA HIE Coordinator
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Additionally, you can reach out to your legislators directly with the message: “Remove Mental Health from the HIE mandate” . If you don’t know your representative, you can search for them at:
http://www.oklegislature.gov/findmylegislature.aspx
As mentioned, there is the OHCA board meeting Wednesday March 22nd where the final vote will be held. I’ll post again with the results of that meeting.
Thank you for your patience and understanding and we move forward and adapt to these changes.
Great post! It’s important for providers and patients alike to understand the potential impact of these changes. It’s concerning that very few providers were aware of this bill until recently. My logical question is: Have mental health providers expressed any concerns or objections to this new law?
primary tinting
https://blog.primarytinting.net
YES