#letters: Do Electronic Medical Records need facility contact information on them?

QUESTION:

When I print a report from my EMR the report contains the facility address and phone number. When the notification lay letter is sent to the patient, it includes the facility address and phone number per the 2024 MQSA Regulations.

If a patient's physician or the patient goes into the electronic medical record report of test results and it does not have the facility address or phone number on the electronic report, is this in compliance with the new regulations or is the facility address and phone number required on the electronic report also?

ANSWER:

MQSA does not differentiate between internal and external systems. If the medical report or lay letter can be reviewed and/or printed by the provider or patient, then it must be compliant.

The “official” mammography report that is provided/sent to the patient’s referring healthcare provider must include the following information:

• Facility name and location (at a minimum, city, State, ZIP code, and telephone number of facility performing the exam),
• Patient Name and an additional patient identifier,
• Date of exam,
• An overall assessment of findings,
• An overall assessment of breast density,
• Recommendations about what additional actions, if any, should be taken, and
• Name of the interpreting physician who interpreted the mammogram.

All information in this answer and all others are sourced from the MQSA Hotline at +1 (800) 838-7715. For other questions, contact Mammologix or the MQSA Program directly!