70% Of Consumers Don't Access Health Records Online

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

According to the results of a recent ONC survey, only 3 of 10 Americans access health records online.

Less than one third of consumers access health records online according to a recent data brief from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

“The ability of individuals to access and use their online medical records serves as one of the cornerstones of national efforts to increase patient engagement and improve health outcomes,” notes the report. Other highlights include:

• almost 3 in 10 individuals were offered access to an online medical record
• almost half of those who were offered access were provided access by only their healthcare provider
• another four in ten individuals were given access by both their health insurer and healthcare provider.
• less than one in ten individuals was given access to their online medical record by only their health insurer.
• among those given access to their online record, almost half viewed their online health information at least once within the last year
• Fifty-four percent did not view their online information

Health Data Management reports that one third of those surveyed reported a gap in health information among their providers or between themselves and their providers. “These gaps included one or more of the following: had to bring an X-ray, MRI, or other type of test result to provider appointment; had to wait for test results longer than individual thought reasonable; had to redo a test or procedure because the earlier test results were not available; had to provide medical history again because individual’s chart could not be found; and had to tell a provider about medical history because they had not gotten records from another provider.

“A majority of individuals who accessed their online medical record found the information very useful. Seven in 10 individuals nationwide reported that having an online medical record was very or somewhat important. Among individuals who did access their online medical record, over 90 percent perceived having access as very or somewhat important, and notably, a majority (62 percent) of individuals who did not access their online record considered online access to be somewhat or very important,” stated the ONC. “Together, these findings suggest that even in the early stages of online medical records, individuals do value and find use from basic capabilities to access their online medical record.”