From Pandemic Response to Kill the Clipboard: Patient-Controlled Sharing of Health Data Using International Patient Summary (IPS) and QR codes

Background: Despite advances in interoperability, patient-supplied medical histories commonly use paper-based forms. Dissatisfaction with this inefficiency has led to the “Kill the Clipboard” initiative from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to advance digital alternatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patient-controlled vaccination record sharing demonstrated that Quick Response (QR) codes and digital data standards provide an effective option. Building on this, several nations are using three standards to securely view and exchange medical data: Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, the International Patient Summary, and SMART Health Links. Objectives: This case report explores the use of QR codes and medical data standards in patient-mediated workflows to share medical histories, describing implementation experiences from four such implementations. Methods: We describe standards and developer community experience with global initiatives and implementations across the United States, Canada and the Hajj pilgrimage, which all support the use of QR codes in patient-mediated data exchange. Results: We report on technical readiness, patient adoption and reported improvements to emergency preparedness using QR codes to share patient summaries. Conclusions: Advancing patient-mediated exchange with these technologies aligns with initiatives to “Kill the Clipboard.” Preliminary evidence suggests this novel approach can better inform care. These four case studies demonstrate the viability of this approach and lessons learned from this digital transition.