The centralised electronic health record, an essential building block for quality care

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    A patient record is an essential building block for quality care. We have summarized for you the most important information about use, access security and privacy.

    Your record in the hospital

    Your hospital record should be as complete as possible. It must contain the medical history and all current data. Every hospital is legally obliged to create a record for every patient and to keep it for 30 years.

    Because a record contains a lot of sensitive information, each hospital must properly protect access to this record. That is why every hospital uses digital records (computer files). These are the Electronic Health Records, or EHRs. 

    Such a file is therefore primarily a database of information. But it is much more than that. The whole process of patient care is also controlled and monitored by it. General practitioners and home care nurses also use computer files, but for them it is called EMR (Electronic Medical Record) or ENR (Electronic Nursing Record).

     

    What is the role of nexuzhealth?

    Nexuzhealth sells an Electronic Health Record (EHR) to hospitals, under the name CWS (Clinical Workstation). This EHR from nexuzhealth is one centrally managed record for more than 35 affiliated hospitals/healthcare institutions. This means that each patient of these hospitals has only one record, even if he is known in several hospitals using CWS.

    In other words, all these hospitals can add information about the patient in the same central file. Healthcare providers from these hospitals can then access this data. Nexuzhealth also ensures that patients can access their patient records via the app or the web platform mynexuzhealth.

    What is the advantage of a centralised health record?

    It is important that each healthcare professional involved in the treatment has access to all the information needed to treat the patient in the best possible way. After all, different hospitals/healthcare institutions usually work together in the treatment of a patient. The government also recognises the importance of this.

    A central health record provides the most complete picture of the patient. So also with the information from a previous treatment in another nexuzhealth hospital. Because everyone works in the same record, the information is also complete and immediately available. Since the central record contains so much information, it obviously requires to be properly secured, in order to protect the health and privacy of the patient and the healthcare provider. 

    Who has access to the information in my file?

    Nexuzhealth takes special steps in the security of the information in patient records. This is done by monitoring the access. There are three general principles that govern access to a record. These determine what information can be seen and processed in a patient record.

    First principle: every healthcare professional gets access depending on their position. For example, a doctor has more rights than a nurse. So your position, your role, determines what you can or cannot do in a record. 

    Second principle: not just any healthcare professional can look at any record, only the healthcare professional with whom the patient has a therapeutic relationship. The therapeutic relationship is established on the basis of planned or performed actions such as consultations, interventions and examinations. Broadly speaking, this means that only healthcare providers involved in an ongoing treatment process have access to the patient’s record.

    Third principle: exceptionally, a healthcare provider may request access to a patient’s record if this is necessary. The healthcare provider must provide the reason for the access. The other healthcare providers who have a therapeutic relationship with the patient are informed of this. This allows for continuous monitoring by the treating healthcare providers.

    In addition to these three principles, any inspection or change, however limited, is recorded. This gives a complete picture of everyone who has ever looked at the record. Of course, healthcare providers are also bound by medical confidentiality and the code of ethics of their profession.

    The CWS EHR in health care institutions

    The hospital or healthcare institution is responsible for the proper management of access to patient records. CWS offers the hospitals various possibilities for managing this access according to the three principles described. A code of conduct is also imposed by nexuzhealth. This is a set of standards, values and rules of conduct that every healthcare institution must accept before it can start working with CWS. 

    Access by other healthcare providers via nexuzhealthpro

    Healthcare providers with other professions, such as dentists and physiotherapists, who do not work in a nexuzhealth hospital/healthcare institution, can also access parts of their patient’s file in KWS. The access control is similar here: on the basis of the NIHDI number, the profession of the care provider is determined. The proof of the therapeutic relationship is provided by the explicit approval of the patient. Any healthcare professional who wants access to the file must request it, and it is the patient who decides whether or not access is granted.

    Access by the patient

    Nexuzhealth wants every patient to be able to view their patient file easily and to understand how this data is handled. That is why nexuzhealth provides as much access as possible via the web platform and the app mynexuzhealth. 

    The hospitals/healthcare institutions or care providers themselves determine which data is available here. For the information that is not available via the patient platform, the patient can always request access via the hospital/healthcare institution or the healthcare provider.

    Do you still have questions about (access to) your file?

    If, as a patient, you have questions about the content of and access to your patient record, you can always ask the "ombudsman" service of your hospital.

    Do you have any further questions on the processing of your personal data?

    If you have any further questions about the processing of your personal data or your rights in this regard, please consult the Privacy Statement of nexuzhealth and/or the Privacy Statement of your hospital.