Determining the Issues Patients Report with Using Electronic Health Records

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Recommended: Electronic health records affect patients

The purpose of this review is to determine the issues patients report with using electronic health records and possible resolutions. This study discusses the issues with privacy and security of a patient’s personal sensitive information contained in the electronic health records. The main purpose of developing a medical record is to assist a physician in providing continuous medical care to a patient. Medical records contain sensitive personal information patients provide to their physicians in confidence with the understanding that this information will not be shared with anyone unless the patient gives permission. In order to understand how electronic health records will be used, patients need to know what laws are in place to protect their information. One of the laws is the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/index.html) HIPPA signed by President Clinton as part of the redesign of health care changes that would require that all paper medical records be converted into electronic health records and to protect that information from being shared without a patient’s consent. It is imperative that everyone knows that the information that is written in a medical record can change the life of the patient if it is disclosed.
Disclosing this information to their physician the patient takes the risk of having it get into the wrong hands. A patient has been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease and Hepatitis C, it is treated and by law, the clinician only has to report it to the Department of Health. With the mandated changes from the paper version to an electronic (EHR) patients will have to worry about who views
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the information and if it will be shared. The in...

... middle of paper ...

...th record provided.
In the study of Fontaine, Ross, Zink, & Schilling, (2010) states “health information technology shows great promise for improving the efficiency, quality, and safety of medical care”. Patients appear to be pleased with using electronic health records and that their medical information will be readily accessible when they are needed.
The goal of this study was achieved however there continues to be issues that will need to be resolved due to electronic health records uses are in the early stages of implementation. “The government believes that using electronic health records will decrease health care fraud, decrease duplicate services, and improve the quality of care. But the government has indicated that even with the strict
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security measures the information is still being shared”
(http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/E-Health/EHealthRecords/index.html).

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