A blog about the latest updates, stories and ideas from the OneRecord team.

The latest updates, stories and ideas from the OneRecord team.

The OneRecord Blog

Wondering what HIPAA means and what it does?  We’re here to break down the four major protections that HIPAA is designed to provide for you - in words we can all understand.

What is HIPAA? Here's a simplified summary for you.

Unless you work in close proximity to the healthcare industry you may have only heard about HIPAA in hospital TV shows or at your annual doctor’s visit. HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, is a law in the United States designed to protect patients and their health information as our healthcare systems continue to modernize. There are four major protections that HIPAA is designed to provide and we’re here to quickly break them down for you.

As its Latin root, port, implies, the portability of insurance refers to carrying insurance from one place to another, or from one person to another. Basically what this means is that health insurance is set up in a way so that if there is a change in your employment, home address, family status, or health status it will have the least possible negative impact on your insurance coverage as it transfers. This part of the law makes it easier for people who have group insurance coverage to remain covered when they change jobs or add family members to the coverage. More people are able to "carry" the coverage in the case of marriage, childbirth, adoption, or other family status changes.

Protection and Privacy of Healthcare Information

If you have heard about HIPAA protections before, you most likely heard it as it relates to privacy. This protection is designed to keep your private health information, well, private. This ensures that your healthcare providers are not disclosing your health information without your knowledge or consent. This protection is commonly referred to as the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

Standardization and Efficiency in Healthcare Data

As the world modernizes, the medical world does too. HIPAA was created primarily to adjust to the quick-changing landscape of how records are kept, shared, and used. As with most records and important documents, we have seen a shift from physical, hard copies to records being stored securely online. The HIPAA related legislation gives guidance to the proper storage and sharing of health information. If you want a safe and easy way to organize, manage, and share your medical records, download OneRecord to access all your medical records - ready whenever you may need them. 

This protection establishes a system or process for how violations of HIPAA are dealt with and prevented. Systems are set up within HIPAA as a means of keeping the ecosystem of the healthcare world in good working order to keep consumers like you protected.

HIPAA is designed to protect you, your health information, and your health insurance coverage. When it comes to these factors it’s important to know what protections you have in order to have confidence navigating the healthcare system. The more you know about how the healthcare system works, the more it can work for you.  Check out our other blogs for more helpful tips and tricks.

So what is HIPAA? Here's a simplified summary for you.

Wondering what HIPAA means and what it does?  We’re here to quickly break down the four major protections that HIPAA is designed to provide for you - in words we can all understand.

Immunization records will be playing a larger role in our lives than ever before. Here is a selection of activities and places where your COVID-19 vaccination records may be used in the coming months and years.

Your COVID-19 Vaccination Records Will Be Beneficial To Have On Hand In 2021 - Here's Why

Medicine has been at the forefront of public discussion throughout this past year and has influenced the way our society operates in extreme ways. Though it feels we are coming to a close with the pandemic, there are anticipated societal changes still to come moving forward. As we move into 2021 and restrictions slowly get lifted and life begins to resemble what it once was, we should expect some new practices and policies as we re-engage with and re-examine travel, sporting events, education, office culture, concerts, etc. 

Based on expert's outlooks going into the spring and summer of 2021, it is a likely conclusion that immunization records will be playing a larger role in our lives than ever before. We have compiled a selection of activities and places where immunization records may be used in the coming years.

We have already seen a major shift in the way the travel industry is operating due to this pandemic. Between airlines limiting the number of seats available and some states instating travel bans, traveling has never been so involved. As the vaccine rollout continues, we can expect the travel industry to change in time along with it. By having immunization records on hand you will most likely be setting yourself up to successfully navigate whatever travel changes or rules you may come up against as you make your way to your final destination.  This could include special seating areas for those that are vaccinated, providing a vaccine record to board an international flight (instead of a negative COVID-19 test), or even flight deals for vaccinated travelers. 

Last March many Americans transitioned from bustling office life into a solo, work-from-home life. With working from home not being permanently plausible for many individuals and businesses, we should expect a return to the office spaces in some capacity in 2021. Shared office spaces have come into popularity throughout the past few years and a few of these spaces currently require patrons to have their temperature taken before even entering the space. Office spaces are likely to change once again with increased immunizations throughout the country and immunization records could be the key to the office doors. Your immunization records on hand will help to bypass some of these forecasted restrictions and considerations.

The most recent Super Bowl, Super Bowl LV, featured 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers in the stands in Tampa, Florida. These spectators are a welcome change from the cardboard cutouts and empty bleachers that we have become accustomed to at sporting events. With the Super Bowl as a precedent, we can imagine that vaccination status will play a role moving forward with these sorts of leisure and entertainment activities.  From buying tickets online to entering the stadium, an immunization record will likely ensure entry as the world transitions back to normal.

Although we do not know exactly how the world will begin to rebuild to a new normal, we can anticipate immunization records playing a larger role than they ever did before. To ensure you are best equipped to take on this new normal, download OneRecord and you’ll have your Covid-19 immunization data securely on your phone ready anytime you may need them.  A digital record is much easier, and much more secure, to carry than your paper record and you can trust that if you have your phone, you have your records.  Get OneRecord today!

Your COVID-19 Vaccination Records Will Be Beneficial in 2021 - Here's Why

Your Immunization Records May Play A Crucial Role As You Navigate 2021

A summary of COVID-19 Vaccines as of late February 2021

The Latest On The COVID-19 Vaccines - February 2021

OneRecord

With Covid-19 case rates dropping nationwide, we are nearing a glimpse of a post-Covid future. Still, real hope for a new, new normal is carried by vaccines-- effective, timely, and widespread vaccinations. After a series of unprecedented scientific breakthroughs, five different vaccines have been approved, each with its own mechanism of action, range of efficacy, along with logistical, supply, and cost challenges. Here we survey the leading vaccines approved for distribution. 

The Pfizer vaccine, co-developed with the German firm, BioNTech, is a two-shot regimen given three weeks apart. This vaccine takes advantage of mRNA to transport genetic instructions for the Covid-19 spike protein inside human cells. Once the instructions are read by the ribosomes, the cell begins producing copies of the spike protein. These cells are then recognized as intruders and attacked by Helper T cells and B cells.  The immune system, now familiar with the spike protein, is prepared to defend against Covid-19 in the wild. 

 With an efficacy of 95% in preventing infection, Pfizer, along with Moderna, leads the pack. But from a logistical and cost perspective, there are significant challenges. Pfizer’s vaccine requires a “cold chain” of storage that maintains the vials at -94 degrees Fahrenheit. Refrigeration of this grade is not widely available--not at pharmacies or Doctors’ offices--so distribution will likely be slowed. Its cost too, which is twice that of Johnson & Johnson’s, likely places this vaccine out of reach for all but the wealthiest nations. The fact that two doses are required can also be seen as a limitation. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, in contrast, requires a single dose and can be stored in standard refrigerators. 

Developed by a Massachusetts biotechnology firm in partnership with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Moderna’s vaccine also uses mRNA to educate the immune system. A two-dose regimen provides 94% efficacy in preventing Covid infections, and 99% efficacy in preventing severe infections. An important advantage of Moderna’s vaccine is that it can be stored in ordinary refrigerators, making distribution logistics much simpler. But Moderna’s vaccine requires a dose of 100 micrograms (three times that of Pfizer’s) which presents its own supply challenge. Studies are now underway to see if a lower dose would be as effective.

Johnson & Johnson took a different approach than Moderna or Pfizer. This vaccine does not use mRNA, but rather makes use of a harmless adenovirus which normally causes the common cold. Engineering this virus to carry instructions to make the Covid-19 spike protein enables delivery of the protein’s genetic code to a human cell, where it is then recognized as an intruder and destroyed. This same approach has previously been approved to combat Ebola. 

This vaccine is a single-shot regimen with 85% effectiveness against severe Covid infections. In preventing mild to moderate cases, the demonstrated efficacy is 66 percent. Given that this vaccine can be stored in standard refrigeration for months, and that its cost is ⅓ that of Pfizer’s, this may prove the vaccine of choice where logistics and cost are key considerations. 

A partnership between Oxford University and Swiss biotechnology firm, AstraZeneca, has produced a vaccine with 82.4% efficacy in preventing infection. Unlike Pfizer and Moderna, the Oxford team decided to use double-stranded DNA rather than mRNA to transport spike protein genes. Due to DNA’s robust protein coating which makes it much sturdier than mRNA, this vaccine needn’t be frozen and has a long shelf-life in ordinary refrigeration. 

Using a well-studied and previously approved technique pioneered by Johnson & Johnson in its Ebola vaccine, the Oxford team uses a modified chimpanzee adenovirus to transport spike protein building instructions into human cells, thus provoking an immune response. The modified adenovirus is safe to use in this scenario as it can enter cells, but cannot replicate inside them.

While its safety and efficacy for those over 65 and for children is still to be determined, for the broad middle demographics, this vaccine’s low cost (3-4$/dose) and logistical simplicity makes it an appealing option for many nations.

A Maryland-based firm utilized a well-known technique for modifying a gene and then allowing it to infect a host cell in order to harvest modified but inert infectious agents. Here, a modified version of the Covid spike protein was allowed to infect a moth cell which then produced altered spike proteins. They then harvested those spike proteins and assembled them into nanoparticles, which mimic the structure and function of real-world spike proteins, but have no power to infect or cause illness. 

These nanoparticles then in circulation, the immune system is encouraged by a chemical attractant to see and destroy the nanoparticles. But while the particles are not infectious, the immune system has learned to identify and destroy the Covid-19 spike protein. 

Like the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, the Novavax vaccine does not need to be frozen and has a 3-month shelf life under ordinary refrigeration. With an efficacy rate of 89% and simple logistics, Novovax could become a critical asset in the fight against Covid. 

Scientists think the Moderna and BioNTech vaccines will still work against two variants of concern that were first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa, but emerging evidence — including from a different experimental vaccine trial — suggests that the protection might be considerably less complete.

Novavax — which, by the way, is in the midst of a large late-stage trial in North America — proved effective at stopping symptomatic infections in global hot spots where concerning variants are dominant, the company announced Thursday. However, warning signs lurked amid those findings: The protective effect of the vaccine was substantially muted in South Africa, where a worrisome virus variant is in wide circulation.

Dr. Fauci said that the more crucial measure was the ability to prevent severe disease, which translates to keeping people out of the hospital and preventing deaths. And that result, for Johnson & Johnson, was 85 percent in all of the countries where it was tested, including South Africa, where a rapidly spreading variant of the virus had shown some ability to elude vaccines.

Here's The Latest On The COVID-19 Vaccines 

Your round-up on the latest COVID-19 Immunization News

Even though you may be excited to share your vaccine status with all your friends and family on social media, here are some important reasons to be careful of what information you're sharing online.

What You Need to Know Before Posting Your COVID-19 Vaccine Card Online

After almost a full year of wearing masks and adhering to social distancing guidelines, COVID-19 vaccinations are finally being rolled out across the United States. While you may be excited to share your vaccine status with all your friends and family on social media, here are some reasons to be careful of what information you're sharing online.

Sharing sensitive personal information could put you at risk of identity theft.

When it comes to posting on social media in general, a great rule of thumb is to avoid posting anything with sensitive personal information. This could mean your full name, date of birth, social security number, home address, medical records, place of work, or even something as seemingly harmless as your child’s birthdate. People intending to commit identity theft often use social media to collect all different types of information about people and use combinations of this information to log into your accounts jeopardize your identity.

Now you may be wondering, “what information is so sensitive on my COVID-19 vaccination card that may put me at risk of scams or identity theft?” Well, excellent question! Most vaccination cards will display your full name, your date of birth, and where/ when you got vaccinated. Although each of these pieces of information are not particularly dangerous to display on their own, when used together there is a potential risk of identity theft. 

Your ability to receive a subsequent dose may be interfered with.

Many COVID-19 vaccines require a few week latency period between doses and by posting your vaccination card online you may even interfere with your ability to get the second dose. With many people having a vested interest in getting this vaccine, hackers and scammers may use your sensitive information to make fake vaccine cards or otherwise interfere with the vaccination process. It may be wise to hold off on posting until your vaccination is complete.

HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is a law that is designed to protect medical patients and their sensitive information from being shared or disclosed without their knowledge. By posting your COVID-19 vaccination card you may be voiding or compromising your HIPAA protections. Losing HIPAA protections, in addition to sharing sensitive personal information, puts you at even higher risk of your medical portals being hacked or medical identity theft. 

With so many dark clouds over us this past year, it makes sense to want to share some rays of sunshine and hope via social media, but it’s still incredibly important to continue to protect yourself and your family. We hope that with these few potential dangers in mind you will make informed choices on what you share online.

Want your COVID-19 immunization record secured conveniently on your phone instead of on a paper card?  Download OneRecord to have your vaccine data - along with all your medical records -  ready whenever you may need them. 

Even though you may be excited to share your vaccine status on social media, here are some important things to consider before sharing that information online.

Read This Before Posting Your COVID-19 Vaccine Card Online

OneRecord is Now Serving Digital Medical Records to Veterans Nationwide

OneRecord Helps Veterans Get Their Medical Records in One Place

Veterans of the United States, have sacrificed so much while serving our country.  We at OneRecord want to show our thanks for the privileges and rights Veterans protect. Here’s a way to (hopefully) make Veteran life a little easier every time you go see your doctor. 

In short, we’ve created a hassle-free, easy way for Veterans to retrieve all their medical records in one place.  Whether it’s for you (Veteran), your caretaker, and/or any family members in charge of your care plan - accessing and viewing your medical records has never been easier. 

No longer will you have to spend time organizing all those paper records or worrying that your missing one, OneRecord is your single place for all your health information.  

Jimmy Shirey (E5, 1966 -1969) points out, “as a military veteran who served in Vietnam, I have received care from the VA healthcare facilities. I have also received care from a number of civilian healthcare facilities. It is nice to be able to find and merge my VA records with my other health records using OneRecord. I’m glad to have it all in one place.”

This was made possible when The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and OneRecord teamed up to provide an all-in-one platform that lets you easily retrieve your medical records from any of the 1,255 VA facilities and external providers, nationwide.

Plus with OneRecord Share, doctors and other providers can be given read-only digital versions of medical documents and records. When medical professionals know the whole health story of a patient, they can make better informed decisions and provide quality care. 

As we continue to navigate a new normal during COVID-19, healthcare is changing rapidly. Sharing health information with loved ones, triaging at-home, and telemedicine appointments are commonplace, especially among the Veteran community. Digital records may seem like another big change, but they are very simple to set up and understand - and secure to access via the OneRecord app on smart devices or here, on the web.

“It’s a tremendous privilege to serve Veterans,” is a common phrase for OneRecord co-founder and CEO, Jennifer Blumenthal to say. “OneRecord can serve veterans by giving them access to and ownership of all their health information in one place - their OneRecord.”

Veterans, you have served our country and now OneRecord has the honor of serving you by giving you full autonomy over what matters most: your health.

OneRecord is Helping Veterans Get Their Medical Records in One Place

Veterans, Accessing Your Medical Records Just Got a LOT Easier

Why you should always have a copy of our kid's health records available and ready.

3 Life Events When You NEED Your Child’s Health Records on Hand

You’re a parent who’s always prepared: you know which vegetables your child will eat and which they can’t stand, so you always have the right healthy snack around. You know which movies they’ll think are funny and which they’ll be too scared of, so you know what to recommend to the babysitter. You even know exactly where they left their backpack when they ran in the backdoor this afternoon (pro tip: it’s always on the floor right next to their shoes).

Another way you can be prepared? Have your child’s health records on hand. This is simple with OneRecord because you can store and access all of your family’s health information on the OneRecord website or mobile app. While it can be helpful to have your child’s health records accessible all the time, here are 3 life events when you need them on hand. 

School activities, traveling abroad, or summer camp

It’s likely that any group sport or activity will require you to submit some of your child’s health information. They will usually ask for immunization records to ensure that your child and the other children are protected from infectious diseases, many of which are easily contained by standard immunizations. This is the same for traveling abroad: certain diseases are more common in different parts of the world or your child could be bringing germs elsewhere, so you have to prove that your child has received the appropriate immunizations. For summer camp and other sleepaway activities, you must also have documentation of any allergies or medication information. It’s simple to share this information when you need to and even simpler when it’s consolidated and organized with tools like OneRecord. 

If you move cities, change insurance policies, require a specialist, or simply switch doctors, you’ll need to give your child’s health records to your new care provider. Since many health records are digital these days, you can usually have these records transferred between offices. However, you can streamline the process by having the records yourself. Without the hassle of requesting records from one doctor’s office and sending them to a different doctor’s office, you are making your family’s healthcare more efficient. Additionally, you are ensuring that your child is receiving the best possible care since you are providing your doctors with all of the information they need to make the best decision for your child’s care. 

You are the advocate for your child’s health. In an emergency, you must be able to tell healthcare providers any relevant information regarding your child’s health. Emergencies are stressful and overwhelming, so it’s important to be proactive in preparing for them. You can have all of your child’s health records ready when you need them with OneRecord. That way, in an emergency, you don’t have to scramble to find records of any past procedures or medication dosages. You also don’t have to burden yourself by trying to remember all of that information. You can simply get your phone or pull up the OneRecord website to easily find your child’s health records. OneRecord is there for you, so you can be there for your child’s health. 

Start Building Your Family’s OneRecord Today

The company you work for requested your immunization or vaccine history.  Here's why they ask you for those records and what you need to provide.

Why Your Employer is Asking for Your Immunization History

What if an employer asks to see your immunization history? You may be thinking, what does this mean? Why is my employer asking for my immunization history? And, where do I find my immunization records? Don’t worry we’re here to explain why employers ask to see your immunization history.  Plus let you know how to access your medical records so you can share them quickly and easily with employers.

If you have children, you’re probably used to submitting your child’s immunization records to schools, camps, and other group activities. This, of course, is to ensure that your child and the other children are safe from common infectious diseases that are easily controlled by immunizations. 

Employers can ask for your immunization history as a term of employment. This is already common practice in healthcare fields, but it is becoming more prevalent in other workplaces, as well. In short, employers would request your immunization history in order to protect you and your coworkers. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) states that employers can require you to get a vaccine (a flu shot, for example), but you also must be given the relevant information describing how vaccines benefit both you and your workplace.  

Many immunizations are given to you as a child, so your old medical records can be a good place to start your search. Contacting past doctors to locate your immunization history is the best way to locate those records. You can also check in with your old school, university or past workplaces. Some states even have immunization registries called Immunization Information Systems (IIS) that include adult vaccines. If worse comes to worst, you can always go to the doctor and get bloodwork done to see if you have the antibodies against certain common diseases (this would mean that you’ve had the vaccine in the past). Also, you could simply get immunizations again! But it’s never fun to get a shot if you don’t need one, so definitely try to find those records first. 

How to Maintain Your Immunization Records

Once you’ve found your immunization history, hold on to it for the future. This way, you’ll have it for future employers or if you travel abroad. While it can be tricky to keep track of all of your medical records (immunization history included), there are lots of tools available that can help keep your health information organized, accessible, and up-to-date. OneRecord is one of these tools! OneRecord consolidates all of your medical information, making it accessible through the OneRecord website or app. Because it’s all digital, there’s no need for a bulky binder or multiple manila folders holding all of your medical records. Also, this conveniently allows all of your medical information to be portable. You’ll always have your records on hand when employers or other doctors need your information. OneRecord gives you autonomy over your medical information whenever you might need it.

The company you work for requested your immunization or vaccine history...  But why?