PATIENT ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS
As part of the widespread switch towards solely digital health records there has been much discussion over the right patients have to access and amend their own medical records. HIPAA gives patient the right to see their own medical records, access them electronically, and send them to other healthcare providers. The point of allowing patients to view their own medical records includes the patient’s right to their own data, as well as to facilitate better patient engagement with their own health by viewing and adding information to their EHR.
But patient access to data isn’t occurring even though EHR systems are being widely adopted. Only 28 percent of Americans were given access to online medical records in 2013. Additionally, 54 percent of these people didn’t access their records, and 21 percent only viewed them once or twice. Consequently, it’s clear that the current system set in place does not facilitate patients viewing and contributing to their own data.
This is such an issue that the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee has been holding hearings in which the effectiveness of the $31.3 billion EHR federal incentive program is being looked at. At the most recent hearing on September 16, the importance of a system with better communication between doctor and patient is crucial. During the hearing, Elizabeth Warren stated, “We still have a way to go before we have the kind of interoperable, consumer-friendly system that will make sure that patients can actually see their own information and that will give access to that information to different doctors, hospitals, and healthcare providers.”
Ultimately, giving patients access to their own medical records is meant to enable them to become more engaged and invested in their own health. However, there are clearly issues of accessibility that must be addressed before this can occur.
