Patients care more about use of data than consent

Patients are more concerned over how their health information is used than whether consent was obtained, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Dallas-based Parkland Health and Hospital examined public support for secondary uses of electronic health information under different consent arrangements.

The nationally representative survey queried 3,064 people of diverse ethnic backgrounds (65 percent response rate) on the appropriateness of health data use as described in various vignettes.

Result findings showed that participants rated scenarios in which consent was obtained as much appropriate than when content wasn’t given, and rated marketing use of health data as less appropriate than research. Also, the respondents rated unconsented research uses as more appropriate than consented marketing uses.

“Although approaches to health information sharing emphasize consent, public opinion also emphasizes purpose, which suggests a need to focus more attention on the social value of information use,” concluded the authors.