Sharing Medical Data Between Practitioners

OutSmart Prevents Accidental Sharing

In order to prevent accidental sharing of information, all types of patient data require specific and separate sharing instructions. We do not allow the unilateral sharing of all patient data with a single click. This avoids the unintentional sharing of confidential information. For example, just because you share a specific medical chart with another doctor does not mean that you are also sharing all the patient’s lab test results, or all their questionnaires, etc. Each type of patient information requires your approval prior to sharing.

Sharing PIN

There are 2 kinds of Share Pins:  the Practitioner Share PIN, and the Office Share PIN.

Practitioner Share PIN

A Practitioner’s Share PIN is used to allow connections between practitioners that are not part of the same clinic.  There are various ways in which a Practitioner Share PIN can be used, and these are described in detail in the relevant modules in our Knowledgebase.

Another practitioner might ask for your Share PIN in order to create a connection with you through which they might share documents, charts, intake forms, invoices, etc.  When you are asked for your Share PIN, ensure that you only give it to a person that you trust.

How To Find Your Practitioner Share PIN

To find your share pin, click on the User Menu located at the top right of your screen.  It is identified by the first and last initials of your name.  When you open the user menu, click on the View Share Pin option.  This will open up a dialog box where you Share PIN will be displayed.

Office Share PIN

The Office Share PIN is used when you want to share information with all practitioner or all admin staff in an office.  There are various ways in which an Office Share PIN can be used, and these are described in detail in the relevant modules in our Knowledgebase.

How To Find Your Office Share PIN

To find your Office Share PIN, simply go to the Office Details page, by clicking “Office” in the Main Navigation Menu.  On the office details page, you will see your Office Share PIN right at the top of your office details.

Sharing Charts

In OutSmart EMR, you can share your medical chart with any other practitioner using OutSmart anywhere in the world.  Even better, the recipient of the chart does not need to have a paid subscription to receive the chart, and make notes on it.  This allows you to keep your charts within the secure OutSmart system while giving you complete sharing flexibility.

How To Share Charts

1. Start by going to your list of Smart Charts.  Click on the  icon at the top left of your screen.  This will open the Main Navigation Menu.
2. Click on the Smart Charts option.  This will take you to the Smart Charts page.
3. Click on the Your Charts tab at the top.  This will show you all your charts.
4. Use the search bar at the top right to location a patient whose chart(s) you want to share.
5. Click on the   icon in the Actions column for the chart.  This will open the Chart Sharing Options for that patient.  This is where you will be able to customize the type of sharing permissions you want to apply to this patient or this specific chart.

The Chart Sharing Options Dialog

In the Chart Sharing Options dialog box, you can specify the scope of the sharing permissions you wish to grant, as well as the individual or office who is to be the recipient of this share.

Sharing with an individual means that you are choosing a specific person with whom you with to share this informaiton.  Sharing with an office means that you are sharing information with ALL practitioners at that office.

Available Options:

• Sharing Rule:  Your options here are This Specific Chart, All Of This Patient’s Charts, and All Of My Charts.
  • This Specific Chart: Selecting this option means that you are intending to share only the specific chart selected, and nothing else.
  • All Of This Patient’s Charts:  This option indicates that you intend to share all of this specific patient’s medical charts.  This does not include any other data type, like intake forms or documents.
  • All Of My Charts:  This option indicates that you intend to share every single chart from every single patient.  This should not be selected unless you have a general agreement with all your patients that their charts may be shared with other practitioners.  This is usually the case in collaborative care clinics.
• Practitioners / Offices:  Next you will see an array of practitioners and/or offices that you can share your charts with.  These are by default the practitioners at your office or the offices that you have created or are a part of.  If you are a sole practitioner, you will not see any practitioners to select from, only the office you created.  If you want to share with a practitioner outside of your clinic, use the Practitioner Share Pin to add a practitioner to your sharing list.
• Patient Consent: The last part of the sharing procedure is to acknowledge that you have received consent from the patient to initiate this share.  We do not enforce or verify any agreements you have with your patients.  It is your responsibility to ensure that you are legally allowed to share a patient’s confidential information with another practitioner.  Confirming that you have received patient consent by selecting YES in this section indicates to us that you have taken the appropriate steps to secure this consent.

When you are done with the above options, click on Share Chart and your chart(s) will be shared with the selected practitioner(s).  The recipient of the shared charts will be able to see all charts shared with them in the Charts Shared With You tab at the top of the Smart Charts page.

Sharing Documents

In OutSmart EMR, you can share documents with any practitioner or patient using OutSmart anywhere in the world.  Even better, the recipient of the shared document does not need to have a paid subscription to receive the chart.

Navigating And Uploading Documents

Before starting to share documents, it’s important to understand how to navigate the Documents Module.  Follow this link to read that article.  Once you know the difference between files uploaded to a specific Patient Workspace vs files uploaded to the All Documents section, you are ready to start sharing files.

Sharing Documents With Labels

Sharing a document in OutSmart is a simple process that uses OutSmart Labels. Simply select a document, or drag and select several documents, and then click on the  Assign Labels button in the Top Toolbar.  The Assign Labels button will not appear in the Top Toolbar until at least one document is selected.  When you click on the Assign Labels button, the Label Assignment Window will slide down.  This is where you can assign labels and share documents.

The two right columns of the Label Assignment Window are for Sharing Labels.  You can apply Patient Share Labels or Practitioner Share Labels by selecting the patient(s) or the practitioner(s) with whom you want to share the selected documents.  Documents that are uploaded in the All Documents section can be shared with any practitioner and any patient, while documents uploaded to a specific Patient Workspace and only the share with that specific patient, or any practitioner.  This helps to prevent the accidental sharing of private patient information with the incorrect patient.

After you have selected and checked off who you want to share the document with, click on the Apply Labels button at the bottom of the Label Assignment Window.  This will immediately share the documents.  Practitioners who are the recipient of a shared document will see that document show up in their documents list, while patients will see the document in their Patient Portal account.

The following video shows you how you can share Documents with Patients and Practitioners.

Sharing SmartForms

When creating a SmartForm, you have the option to share your form with other practitioners at your clinic.  This is done through the ‘Allow Other Practitioners To Have Access To This Form’ option in the form builder.  More information on sharing SmartForms can be found in this article.

‘Allow Other Practitioners To Have Access To This Form’ option in the form builder.

Allow Other Practitioners To Have Access To This Form:  This option allows other practitioners to use this form for their patients as well.  You are essentially sharing this form with them, but you remain the author of the form, which means that only you can edit the form.  All others can do is simply administer it to their patients.  There are some additional options if you choose to share this form:

• Select Practitioners / Select Offices: This field allows you to specify which practitioners and which offices or clinics can use this form for their patients.
• See All Submissions:  This option allows you to see all the submissions of this form, even from patients of other practitioners who have used this form.  This is useful if you are conducting a multi-clinic study and want all the submissions to go to one place.
• Allow Other Practitioners To See All Submissions: This option allows the practitioners that you have shared this form with to also be able to see all submissions if this form, regardless of which practitioner’s patients submitted them.  this is useful if you are doing a multi-clinic study and all practitioners want to be able to see all the patient submissions.