Patient and Physician Attitudes on Medical Records Access
Author Information
Author(s): Stephen E Ross, Jamie Todd, Laurie A Moore, Brenda L Beaty, Loretta Wittevrongel, Chen-Tan Lin
Primary Institution: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Hypothesis
What are the attitudes of socioeconomically disadvantaged patients and physicians towards shared outpatient medical records?
Conclusion
Patients across various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds support shared medical records, while physicians express more concerns about potential problems.
Supporting Evidence
- 94% of academic medical center patients and 96% of community health center patients endorsed shared medical records.
- Community health center patients expected more benefits from shared records compared to academic center patients.
- Physicians were less likely than patients to anticipate benefits from shared medical records.
Takeaway
Most patients think it's a good idea to see their medical records, but some doctors worry it might cause confusion or extra work.
Methodology
Surveys were distributed to patients in waiting rooms and mailed to physicians in Colorado.
Potential Biases
Differences in question framing between patient and physician surveys may have influenced responses.
Limitations
The study's findings may not represent national attitudes and were conducted over a year apart.
Participant Demographics
Patients included socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals and a broad range of ethnicities; physicians were primarily from primary care.
Statistical Information
P-Value
< .001
Confidence Interval
CI 1.59–3.79
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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