Docs, Patients Differ on Sharing Medical Information

The migration from paper charts to EMRs offers the opportunity to provide access to patients, consultants and other caregivers. Electronic records also offer potential for greater transparency, improved efficiency and decreased costs. However, some think that sharing doctors’ notes electronically could lead to greater patient confusion and more work for the physician. Two articles published in the Dec. 20 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine use survey data to shed light on both sides of the issue.

In the first article, 173 primary care physicians (PCPs) and 37,856 patients completed a survey before joining a voluntary program that provided electronic links to physician notes. The purpose of the survey was to ascertain attitudes from PCPs and patients toward the potential benefits or harms of the program.

The researchers found that PCPs and patients had contrasting opinions on EHRs. The PCPs that chose to participate in the program did so because they thought EHRs would improve patient safety and satisfaction, and could lead to patients being better informed and taking better care of themselves...