Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure where to begin? Have questions about MyWellport? Click on one of the categories or any of the commonly asked questions below and get started.
- General Information
- Shared Health Summaries
- MyWellport or Your Personal Health Record: Accessing your health information from home
- Signing the Request Form
General Information
- What is a health information exchange?
- What is Wellport?
- How do I participate?
- What does Wellport have to offer me?
- What is an electronic health record (EHR)?
- How can I learn more about Wellport and the participating
organizations?
- What will happen to my old paper charts?
What is a health information exchange?
A health information exchange is a new way to bring clinical data together to improve patient care. A health information exchange is a computer network that allows health care organizations involved in a patient’s care to share certain information electronically. In a health information exchange, paper records are replaced with electronic health records. Primary care practices, specialty practices, hospitals, laboratories, imaging centers, and pharmacies can more easily and securely share information from a patient’s electronic health record. With a patient’s permission, certain information is pushed from the electronic health record to create a shared health summary, which is accessible to other clinicians who are also using the health information exchange.
What is Wellport?
Wellport is the health information exchange used by many medical practices in the greater-Newburyport area and by Anna Jaques Hospital. It is a new way for your clinicians to share your health information quickly, securely, and reliably with other health institutions and clinicians in the community. With Wellport, medical practices and Anna Jaques Hospital are connected through a secure and protected computer network. Clinicians expect Wellport to help improve the safety, quality, and efficiency of the health care you receive.
Patients will also be invited to participate in Wellport using a feature called MyWellport. Using MyWellport, patients will be able to view some of their health information and perform certain tasks on a computer.
How do I participate?
If you want to have a shared health summary, simply sign a Request to Release My Information form at each of your providers’ offices. For a list of participating providers, click here.
What does Wellport have to offer me?
Wellport offers many benefits for patients:
- You may spend less time filling out forms and repeating information about your medical history.
- You will not have to worry about forgetting an important detail about your medical history, medications, or allergies when you are seen in a clinician’s office.
- You may avoid having unnecessary duplicate diagnostic tests because your clinician will be able to view the tests that have been ordered for you by other clinicians.
- You may receive better care because your clinicians will be able to access your information more quickly.
- In an emergency, information about our medical history may be readily available to the clinicians treating you.
What is an electronic health record (EHR)?
You may have noticed that many physicians and other clinicians in the greater-Newburyport area have replaced their old paper charts with electronic charts called electronic health records. Electronic health records allow clinicians to record and store health information on a computer. Electronic health records store the same types of information that have traditionally been captured on a paper chart, but in a new, more secure way.
How can I learn more about the participating organizations?
Click here if you want a list of practices and organizations that are participating in Wellport.
What will happen to my old paper charts?
If a paper chart is scanned and added to an electronic health record, the paper record can then legally be destroyed if done in an appropriate manner. If it is not scanned and added to your electronic health record, it—like all paper charts—must be kept for 7 years in a medical practice and 30 years in a hospital. You are entitled to a copy of your medical record no matter how it is stored.
Shared Health Summaries
- What is a shared health summary?
- How is information shared in Wellport?
- How is my shared health summary created?
- What information does a shared health summary
include?
- Can I choose not to have a shared health summary?
- How can I specify who adds information to my
shared health summary?
- Who will have access to my shared health summary?
- How will you protect my information?
- How do you restrict clinician access to my shared
health summary?
- How will having a shared health summary help
me?
- What are the potential risks of having a shared
health summary?
- What are the potential consequences of not having
a shared health summary?
- May clinicians share information that is not
in my shared health summary?
- Is my health information shared outside of the
community?
- Will any information be available in Wellport
without my permission?
- How will Wellport improve public health and safety?
What is a shared health summary?
At your request, some key health information from your electronic health record will be used to create a summary of your health information. This list is called a shared health summary. Your shared health summary can be accessed by physicians and other clinicians who are participating in Wellport so that they can better coordinate your care.
How is information shared in Wellport?
Wellport serves two important functions, and information is shared in two ways:
- Wellport is the central data storage area for shared health summaries. Participating clinicians who are involved in your care can access the information in your shared health summary through Wellport.
- Wellport is also the electronic “pipeline” your medical information will travel through from clinician to clinician, whether or not you have a shared health summary. Until now, clinicians exchanged specific information about you directly by phone, fax, or mail. That practice will continue, and clinicians will also be able to use Wellport to send information about you over the computer directly from one clinician to another to help coordinate your care.
How is my shared health summary created?
Each time you visit Anna Jaques Hospital or a physician’s office, laboratory, or imaging center that participates in Wellport, the results of that visit are stored at that location in an electronic health record.
If you have a shared health summary, selected information is sent through a secure central computer network to create your shared health summary. Within 24 hours, your information should become available to other clinicians in the network so that they can better coordinate your care.
Laboratory, radiology, and other finalized test reports are sent directly to your clinician and become part of your electronic health record. After reviewing them, your clinician can add the results to your shared health summary.
What information does a shared health summary include?
A shared health summary includes information about your medications, allergies, current medical conditions, pregnancies, surgeries, and recent laboratory and imaging results. It does not include clinical notes from medical exams, social security numbers, credit card information, or billing information.
Can I choose not to have a shared health summary?
You can choose not to have a shared health summary. In order for a shared health summary to be created for you, you must request that medical practices release your information to Wellport.
How can I specify who adds information to my shared health summary?
You can choose which participating practices contribute information to your shared health summary and whether Anna Jaques Hospital contributes information. You must make a separate request for each practice or hospital. To make this request, you can obtain a request form from Anna Jaques Hospital, any practice that participates in Wellport, or from www.wellport.org.
Who will have access to my shared health summary?
Only authorized individuals—that is, physicians, clinicians, and other staff who are trained and certified on the Wellport system and involved in your care—will be permitted to have access to your shared health summary. These authorized individuals may view your shared health summary even if they are not adding new information to your summary. Wellport automatically keeps a log (record) of everyone who has viewed your information.
How will you protect my information?
Protecting your privacy is the highest priority and is a critically important responsibility for Wellport. Many safeguards are in place to keep information secure.
- All of your information is encrypted (scrambled) when it is stored and transmitted. In fact, Wellport has similar protections to those used by financial institutions.
- To prevent the loss of data, shared health summaries are saved in duplicate in undisclosed and secure locations.
- Only certain individuals are permitted to access your shared health summary: physicians, other clinicians, hospital staff in the greater-Newburyport medical community, and those parties who have been engaged to help operate and manage Wellport. These parties are allowed to access your information only for specifically and legally permitted purposes. No other individuals outside of the community are permitted to access this information.
How do you restrict clinician access to my shared health summary?
For your protection, access to your information is carefully restricted.
- Only authorized individuals—that is, physicians and other clinicians and staff trained and certified in privacy protection and on the Wellport system—are permitted to access the Wellport network.
- Only authorized individuals who are involved in your care may access your information, and then only when it is needed for treatment purposes.
- Authorized individuals must use a unique login and password to gain access to data they are authorized to view.
- There is a log (record) of everyone who accesses information. These records are audited regularly to spot inappropriate access or uses of the Wellport network.
- Both physical and electronic barriers help reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
- Penalties are in place in the unlikely event that there is unauthorized access or use of the Wellport network. Federal and state laws provide guidance around privacy and security.
How will having a shared health summary help me?
Having a shared health summary offers many benefits. The health care community believes that for the vast majority of patients, the benefits of sharing delicate and private information exceed any benefit of keeping that information from clinicians. It is, of course, your choice.
- If you have a shared health summary, all participating clinicians involved in your care should have access to a regularly updated summary of your current health information, including medications and allergies, giving them a more complete and up-to-date picture of you and your health.
- In the event of a medical emergency, information about your medications, allergies, and medical history should be more easily available to facilitate quality care and to help protect you from potentially harmful treatments.
- You may save time at medical visits and consultations because your information should already be available.
- Because your shared health summary is updated frequently, the number of duplicate diagnostic studies may be reduced.
- You should no longer need to worry about forgetting an important detail about your medical history, medications, or allergies when you are seen in a clinician’s office.
What are the potential risks of having a shared health summary?
There may be some risks associated with having a shared health summary.
- You may consider parts of your medical history too sensitive to share with certain clinicians in the greater-Newburyport medical community. Your medical history could include information related to specific conditions such as sexually transmitted diseases, mental health, pregnancies, HIV status, genetic conditions, chronic conditions, alcohol or drug problems, or other conditions that you may consider sensitive.
- Unauthorized individuals could gain access to the computer network.
- An authorized user could misuse health information.
- An authorized person could see information in your record that makes you uncomfortable.
- There is a possibility that inaccurate information could be accidentally entered into your electronic record and shared with others through your shared health summary. This could have a negative impact on your care.
- There may be other risks.
The greater-Newburyport health care community believes that for the vast majority of patients, the benefits of sharing private information exceed any benefit of keeping that information from your clinicians. It is, of course, your choice.
What are the potential consequences of not having a shared health summary?
If you do not have a shared health summary, you may experience some inconveniences or challenges:
- When you visit a participating specialist, he or she may not have access to your current health information, including medications and allergies.
- In the event of a medical emergency, information about your medications, allergies, and medical history may not be available to the clinicians treating you.
- You may spend time filling out repetitive medical history forms.
- Clinicians may order unnecessary duplicate diagnostic tests for you.
- You may worry that you are forgetting an important detail about your medical history, medications, or allergies when you are seen in a clinician’s office.
- Clinicians may not be able to access medical information about you over the internet.
May clinicians share information that is not in my shared health summary?
The details of actual medical visits and specific medical notes are not part of your shared health summary and are therefore not kept in a central location. They are saved in your electronic health record at the location where your care is given.
If another clinician caring for you has a need for details from your electronic health record that are not part of your shared health summary, the information is encrypted and may be sent directly from one of the practices participating in Wellport to another. These details could include progress notes, visit notes, and other information about your medical history. A log (record) is kept of all instances of communication among clinicians.
Is my health information shared outside of the community?
Although Wellport is part of a national effort to improve patient safety and the quality of health care, your health information is not shared outside of the greater-Newburyport community. When electronic health information networks become more common, it may be possible to exchange information confidentially (and with your permission) with hospitals and medical offices throughout Massachusetts, New England, and even the rest of the country. For now, when you visit a clinician outside of Wellport, your information will be shared as before—by telephone, fax, or mail.
Will any information be available in Wellport without my permission?
In order to ensure the safe, accurate, and timely delivery of your health information to your authorized clinicians, each practice or participating hospital where you are seen has provided your name, date of birth, address, and unique patient identifier (code) to Wellport. This information will only be viewable by authorized parties who need to use it to operate Wellport.
How will Wellport improve public health and safety?
The measurement, monitoring, and reporting of community health data is expected to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care and public health.
- Wellport could combine patient data from each participating community medical office in order to spot health trends in the community.
- Wellport could help physicians and scientists determine the origin or cause of an epidemic, the release of a harmful substance, or the release of an infectious agent.
- The regularly updated information from shared health summaries could help clinicians and public health officials on the local, regional, and state levels create healthier communities. For example, it is helpful to know the rate of immunizations in any given community and whether children are being protected. Using paper records is more time consuming and results in information that is less reliable. When health information is needed for measurement and recording, electronic records make it easier to protect patients’ privacy because personal information is removed and data are grouped.
- For public health research, Wellport could help locate patients with a particular condition. (Specific permission would be required from the patient for the further release of information.) In addition, Massachusetts laws require the reporting of certain conditions to public health authorities, and electronic health records could help to quickly identify individuals with those conditions.
- Wellport could produce reports on quality measures for use by the clinicians in the community.
MyWellport or Your Personal Health Record : Accessing your health information from home
- What is MyWellport?
- How will the MyWellport help me and my loved ones?
- How can I protect my information when using MyWellport?
- How will you make sure my information is safe on MyWellport?
- Can I access information about people I am authorized to care for? Signing the Request Form
What is MyWellport?
An important feature of Wellport’s health information network is a service called MyWellport. MyWellport is another name for Your Personal Health Record. You, the patient, will be able to store and have direct access to important information from your medical records over the internet from any computer using the MyWellport link.
How will the MyWellport help me and my loved ones?
Using MyWellport, you will be able to access key information about your health over the internet from any computer. As features are added, it is expected that you will be able to do many of the following using MyWellport:
- View your shared health summary
- Review relevant, up-to-date health information and care instructions
- Access test results and imaging reports (such as lab results and x-ray reports)
- Receive health reminders for routine tests and check-ups
- Refill prescriptions and request prescription renewals
- Communicate with selected physicians and staff using secure messaging
- Request or cancel an appointment with a participating physician’s office
- Access billing information and pay bills
- Request referrals, forms, or documents
- Update your name, address, or insurance information
- Print a copy of your health information to take with you to a physician not participating in Wellport
- View health information for your children, elderly parents, or other family members in your care
How can I protect my information when using the MyWellport?
Take the following precautions to protect your private health information when using MyWellport:
- Be careful with your password. Just as when you bank on the internet, you must not share your password with anyone. Do not write it down where someone else might see it.
- Be careful when using MyWellport on a computer that does not belong to you. Be aware, for instance, that anything that appears on your employer’s computer belongs to your employer.
- Do not save any of your health information on a computer that does not belong to you.
- Be sure to close the internet browser when you are finished viewing your health information.
How will you make sure my information is safe on the MyWellport?
The information on the MyWellport is encrypted (scrambled) and can only be accessed with unique user names and passwords.
Can I access information about people I am authorized to care for?
By using MyWellport, you may access information about people you are authorized to care for (such as elderly parents) with their permission.
Signing the Request Form
- Should I sign the request form?
- Why do some patients decide not to sign the request
form?
- Do I have to complete a separate request form
for each practice or hospital?
- What if I change my mind about having a shared
health summary?
- Participating Wellport Practices
Should I sign the request form?
You need to decide whether or not you want to have a shared health summary. If you do, you must sign the request form authorizing your physician to release information to Wellport in order to create a shared health summary for you. For almost everyone, the benefits— which include the potential of enhanced patient care and safety—should outweigh the potential risks. Note that you get to choose which practices and hospitals participate in creating your shared health summary, and you must complete a separate request form for each medical practice or hospital. The more practices that you authorize to release information to the shared health summary, the more complete your shared health summary will be.
If you have concerns about having a shared health summary, have a frank discussion with your clinician about your concerns, and about the benefits and risks.
Why do some patients decide not to sign the request form?
Some patients may choose not to allow the release of information to a shared health summary for a variety of reasons:
- Some patients have information in their medical records that they feel is too private to share. This may include information about particular pregnancies, surgical procedures, diagnoses and medications for mental health, psychiatric diagnoses, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, or drug and alcohol abuse.
- Some patients may be concerned that a neighbor or acquaintance who works in a clinician’s office will see the information in their shared health summary.
- Some patients may want only a particular physician to be aware of their medical information. They may want to have the option to share it only in specific circumstances with other physicians.
- Since no security system is perfect, some patients may fear a security breach.
The greater-Newburyport medical and health care community believes that for the vast majority of patients, the benefits of sharing private information exceed any benefit of keeping that information from your clinicians. It is, of course, your choice.
Do I have to complete a separate request form for each practice or hospital?
In order to allow you to choose which practices and hospitals participate in creating your shared health summary, you need to complete a separate request form for each medical practice or hospital.
What if I change my mind about having a shared health summary?
You may stop sharing your shared health summary with the members of Wellport at any time. To withdraw permission for releasing information to your shared health summary from any single medical practice or health facility, sign a Request to Withdraw form at that participating practice or facility. Any information already imported in that clinician’s records cannot be removed. However, within one business day of signing a Request to Withdraw form, no new information will be added to your shared health summary.
To withdraw permission for all medical practices and health facilities to release information to your shared health summary, you need to sign only one form. It is available at any participating practice or facility. The change will become effective within three business days after the request is received. Information already imported in a clinician’s records cannot be removed.
For record-keeping purposes, the health information in Wellport used to create your shared health summary will be retained, but will no longer be viewable electronically by clinicians, and no additional information will be added.
Participating Wellport Practices
To view a complete list of the participating providers please click here.