Health Passport FAQS
What is the advantage of using the Health Passport?
Whose information is included in the Health Passport?
You say the Health Passport is free, but what is the real cost for providers?
How often is the information in the Health Passport updated?
Is the data in the Health Passport driven by codes?
Is the claims data based on both paid and denied claims?
Will pending claims show up on the Health Passport?
What is the source of patient demographic information?
If there are no allergies recorded for a patient, does it mean that they do not have any allergies?
How can the system help patients who have potential drug interactions?
What does the Lab Results date and time mean?
What are the requirements for a user to be able to use the Health Passport?
What if a user has dial-up internet, instead of high speed?
What is considered a “high speed connection”?
What are the recommended hardware requirements?
The Health Passport is a patient-centered, internet-based health record. It makes a foster child’s information available to authorized providers and medical stakeholders, such as medical consenters and caseworkers. The data in the Health Passport is not a person’s complete medical record, but it does contain information on patient demographics, doctor visits for which claims have been paid or denied, allergies, lab test results, immunizations, and filled medications. There are also electronic Texas Health Steps, Dental, and Behavioral Health forms available through the Health Passport. Back to top
What is the advantage of using the Health Passport?
The Health Passport allows providers and medical stakeholders to view more patient information than has been available to them in the past. With this new information, providers have the opportunity to cut down on errors due to missing information and to reduce costs by eliminating duplicative tests, immunizations, and prescriptions. More specifically, providers can see more information about patients they thought they knew very well and they can see more info about new patients who they have never seen before. In addition to these benefits, the Health Passport is free. Back to top
There are several major differences between the Health Passport and the EMR or EHR. The first is that the EMR is a patient’s COMPLETE medical record. The Health Passport doesn’t contain all the information that the EMR does.
Second, the EMR only contains comprehensive information from one healthcare provider or health care system. The Health Passport contains select information from many providers and facilities. The EMR must be maintained and updated by the providers who use it, but the Health Passport is maintained and updated by the STAR Health program. Most of the information in Health Passport can be viewed by a provider but cannot be changed. There are only a few areas that are interactive- Vital Signs, Allergies, and the Texas Health Steps, Dental, and Behavioral Health forms – where providers can add information into the Health Passport. Back to top
Whose information is included in the Health Passport?
Each foster child’s demographic information, and paid and denied medical, behavioral, pharmacy, dental, and vision claims. Other information includes lab results, as well as each foster child’s immunization history. Back to top
You say the Health Passport is free, but what is the real cost for providers?
In order to use the Health Passport, providers must have access to a computer with internet connectivity. There is also a small time investment initially in learning how to use it, but in the long run, the Health Passport should save providers time and money when trying to locate information on patients.
For providers who do not have access to the internet, they are able to acquire Health Passport information from Superior Service and Care coordinators. Back to top
How often is the information in the Health Passport updated?
Demographics and contact information – Daily
Medical & Behavioral Health claims – Daily
Pharmacy claims – Daily
Dental & Vision claims – Bi-weekly
Quest Labs data – Weekly
Immunizations (ImmTrac, State Registry) – Monthly Back to top
Is the data in the Health Passport driven by codes?
Some of the data in the Health Passport is claims information, and in the Claim Details information (Visits Module), the viewer can see specific CPT codes (procedure codes), HCPCS codes and J codes; however, the codes are also described using words to make viewing easy and beneficial for both clinical and non-clinical users. Back to top
A Master Person Index is used to match Members in the Health Passport. Members are matched to their records by their names as well as several other factors, such as date of birth and unique numeric identifiers. Back to top
Is the claims data based on both paid and denied claims?
Yes, the Health Passport will show claims that are on file. This means that it will show claims that have been paid or that have been denied. Medication claims are the exception. The Health Passport does not show denied medication claims, because the pharmacy ensures that the prescription will be paid by the insurance before the prescription is filled. Back to top
Will pending claims show up on the Health Passport?
No. The claim will not show up on the Health Passport until after it has been processed by the payer. Back to top
What is the source of patient demographic information?
The foster child’s demographic information will be updated daily by the Texas Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS). Back to top
If there are no allergies recorded for a patient, does it mean that they do not have any allergies?
No. The Health Passport allergy section is an interactive section that depends on provider input for updating. If “No allergy information has been documented for this person” is displaying in the Allergies section, the patient may have allergies, but no provider has documented them in the Health Passport yet. If “No Known Allergies” is displaying in the Allergies section, it means that a provider has documented that the patient has no allergies to their knowledge. We strongly encourage providers to take just a minute to add in any allergies they are aware of. Back to top
Yes. The Allergies, Vital Signs, and Forms sections are interactive sections, and information input into any of these sections is updated immediately to the member’s Health Passport record.
The medication fill date is the date that the medication was dispensed. Back to top
How can the system help patients who have potential drug interactions?
The Medications section of the Health Passport will be helpful in preventing possible drug interactions. If providers are able to see what medications the patient is already taking, he or she can avoid prescribing drugs that could cause an interaction. This could be especially helpful in Emergency Departments where providers frequently don’t have all the information they need before giving treatment to the patient.
The Health Passport also contains an Allergies section. The patient’s providers enter the allergies and having this information is helpful to providers as they prescribe medications. When the patient has an allergy to a medication, an allergy icon will appear next to that prescription. The allergy icon is a red A with a box around it. Back to top
What does the Lab Results date and time mean?
The date and time are when the lab processes the test. Back to top
What are the requirements for a user to be able to use the Health Passport?
A user needs a computer, preferably a high speed internet connection, and authorization (username and password) to access the Health Passport. Authorization is granted to participating providers. To gain authorization, simply go to www.superiorhealthplan.com (for physical health providers) or www.cenpatico.com (for behavioral health providers) and register to use the Health Passport via the secure provider portal. Back to top
What if a user has dial-up internet, instead of high speed?
The Health Passport will work with dial-up internet, but it will be slower. Back to top
What is considered a “high speed connection”?
High speed internet access is a connection that is faster than dial-up– approximately 100 mbps (mega bits per second) or faster. Back to top
What are the recommended hardware requirements?
Recommended requirements for the PC are:
512MB RAM
512MB disk
1Ghz CPU
Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (free to download)
FireFox 2.0 or higher (free to download)
Adobe Acrobat 6.0.2 or greater (a free download at www.adobe.com)
Java 1.05 or greater (a free download)
1024 x 768 screen resolution Back to top
This depends on many factors:
- Type of hardware (ex. computer) and internet connection being used
- Size of the patient’s chart
- How many other users are currently using the system
- Version of Internet Explorer
The network the provider may be using could have some impact (ex. How many firewalls the provider must go through on their network) Back to top
