Post-Cures Act: Implications for Nurse Practitioners

Abstract

The Cures Act of April 2021, gives the public full and immediate access to their medical records in 8 different categories, with 2 exemptions: civil and criminal suits and administrative actions and psychotherapy session notes. There is language prohibiting an individual or organization from blocking this access. This article examines how this legislation impacts nurse practitioners building on and expanding their relationship with their patients and how critical it is that patients become full participating members in their care. The level of patient engagement and their activation as partners are critical for patients to fully benefit from this increased access. Obstacles to increasing patient engagement include low health and computer literacy of patients, providers not encouraging their patients to become active in their care, system-related barriers, such as the organization having other priorities than increasing patient engagement, and community factors to include media that do not address cultural aspects. Nurse practitioners need to continue to maintain a positive, respectful, and supportive milieu in which the patient, the family, and health care team function in a partnership, one in which there is shared decision making with the patient at the center, encouragement of portal usage, and dealing with health and computer literacy and any other barriers to developing this partnership.