Patients, physicians differ on EHR access

Less than one-fifth (18 percent) of doctors believe patients should have full access to their EHRs, a decrease from 31 percent in 2014, according to the Accenture 2016 Consumer Survey on Patient Engagement. 

However, 92 percent of consumers believe they should should have full access to their records—a rate that has increased over the past two years.

These U.S. findings are part of a seven-country survey of roughly 8,000 consumers, including 2,225 Americans, and also found that the number of patients who know exactly what data they can access in their EHRs has increased by more than 50 percent over the past two years, from 39 percent in 2014 to 65 percent today.

Most consumers (77 percent) want to see exactly what the doctor sees and not a summary. However, significantly more consumers are likely to access their EHR to stay informed than they are to help with making medical decisions (41 percent vs. 6 percent).

The areas cited most often by consumers for using their EHRs to manage their health include having access to lab results (41 percent) and having access to their physician’s notes about the visit (24 percent).

Three-fourths of consumers view an EHR as a tool for their primary doctor, but less than than 3 percent said an employer or government organization should have access to their records. Nine percent said a retail clinic should have access to their records.

Consumers see the need for the ability to update certain information in their EHR: family medical history (89 percent), new symptoms (87 percent), demographic information (86 percent), changes in symptoms (86 percent) and personal medical history (83 percent). The number of doctors who believe patients should also be able to update various elements of their own records aligned to that for consumers.

Access the survey results.