Thanks Mark -- that is a lot of good information.
I suppose we can get used to putting copies of our office notes and letters into the patient portal, but most of my patient population doesn't have any way of using the portal mechanism -- many of them have trouble with a telephone. The Cures Act seems to talk only about "electronic devices". I assume we are not required to print and mail copies to patients who can't use a portal and don't request records in the (up to now) usual way. Corrrect?
I have some concern about our responsibility to explain and possibly "correct" the notes when patients read and misunderstand them. Is that part of the Cares Act? Are we going to have to set up a secure email app of some kind to communicate with patients?
