EMRs: Who Wants To Share?

Patients want access to electronic medical records but providers aren’t as enthusiastic to share

By Lisa Kerner, contributing writer

While electronic medical records (EMRs) streamline the sharing of information – seemingly a “win-win” for providers and patients – not everyone is keen on sharing. An Accenture survey found that of 3,700 doctors surveyed in the United States and seven other countries, only 31 percent believe patients should have full access to their medical records. The results are detailed in this infographic.

According to the survey, 49 percent of doctors believe that giving patients access to their records is important for effective care. However, only 21 percent currently allow their patients to have online access to their medical summaries or charts.

One large hospital promotes a different attitude. The Cleveland Clinic recently gave 500,000 patients access to their records, including physician notes, through its online patient portal. The hospital said patients can view their after-visit summary, medications list, allergies, immunization records, preventative care details, laboratory results, and radiology reports. Hard copies of their remaining medical records are available by contacting the hospital.

“By enhancing the connection between our patients and their clinicians, we will create new opportunities to use information to more fully engage our patients as active partners in their health and the decisions they make related to the care they receive,” said C. Martin Harris, MD, chief information officer for Cleveland Clinic.

The Cleveland Clinic said it will start automatically releasing pathology reports to patients, and patients will have online access to both the results and their interpretation. Patient notes are expected to become available online later this year.

While some doctors balk at sharing information, patients are eager to get it. One study suggests that patients want to download and share medical images and radiology reports with their physicians. IDR Medical (pdf download required) surveyed 1,000 adults in March and found that almost half wanted immediate access to their medical images and 87 percent want access to both their medical images and the associated written report. Only 7 percent of respondents failed to see any advantage to having access to personal medical images and associated reports, according to the study.

At least one organization has taken the EMR “ball” and run with it. The National Football League is piloting a program that uses iPads – loaded with players’ health records – on the sidelines to improve concussion assessment, a USA Today article said. Complete EMRs, including baseline concussion assessments, could be in use and transferable among all 32 NFL teams. The players, as patients, apparently saw the value of access to health information. They worked a two-year timeline for implementation of a 24-hour EMR system into their July 2011 collective bargaining agreement, according to the article.