News Feature | December 1, 2014

EHR Privacy: Are Your Patients Concerned?

Katie Wike

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

IT Security In Healthcare

According to a recent poll by NPR, patients have little concern when it comes to the privacy of their electronic health records.

Patients aren’t losing any sleep over data privacy, according to a poll by NPR-Truven Health Analytics. Results show only 11 percent of people have concerns about privacy at their doctor’s office, 14 percent have concerns about hospitals, and 16 percent expressed concern about their data in the hands of their insurer. Only 10 percent were concerned about their employers.

“Maybe the fact that employers have had this type de-identified information for so many years, employees are finally getting used to it,” says Dr. Michael Taylor, chief medical officer for Truven Health Analytics. “Personally, I think it's good. Most employers with whom I deal want to help their employees be healthier, and they need information.”

Three in four respondents said their provider uses an EHR. According to the report’s accompanying release, only 5 percent of respondents say they had ever been notified that their records had been compromised or accessed without permission.

iHealth Beat reports of those whose information had been compromised:

  • About 15 percent said the incident occurred less than a year ago
  • About 37 percent said the incident happened between one and two years ago
  • About 27 percent said the incident occurred between two and five years ago
  • About 21 percent said the incident occurred more than five years ago

“The majority expressed a willingness to share their anonymized health information with researchers,” notes the report. “Less than a quarter expressed willingness to share non-healthcare data with their own healthcare providers.”

Health IT Outcomes reported earlier this year that one study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, found that patients who don’t trust EHRs withhold information from their healthcare provider. Thirteen percent of respondents to the study said they had withheld information from their doctor because of security or privacy concerns.