BOSTON – A new study suggests that patients are open to having electronic medical records play a more central role in their care.
A research team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston led the study to determine how patients feel about converting to EMRs. Key findings suggest patients want full access to all of their medical records, are willing to make some privacy concessions in the interest of making them transparent and fully expect that computers will play a major role in their medical care, even substituting for face-to-face care.
“Year after year, people have seen information technology transform one industry after another and, more to the point, transform their everyday experiences,” said Stephen Downs, assistant vice president of the health group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which supported the research through a grant from its Pioneer Portfolio. “This is the age of the iPhone, Facebook and Google Maps, yet healthcare feels very much the same. This study suggests that people are ready for change – they want a modern healthcare experience.” http://ping.fm/ZN3Yj