Information Age Health Care: Mind the Information Gap

Mind the Information Gap

Study Finds Patients Not Yet Realizing Benefits from EHRs

Among the key findings:

Providers vary widely in the amount of EHR information they allow patients to view.
Patients are not fully informed, particularly in their own language, about how to use EHR portals.
Patients have little control over the privacy of their records.

The complete article is available free of charge through CHCF.org.

Ethics and HIT

Challenges...
http://jamia.bmj.com/site/icons/amiajnl8946.pdf

patient safety should trump all other values; corporate concerns about liability and intellectual property ownership may be valid but should not over-ride all other considerations;
transparency and a commitment to patient safety should govern vendor contracts;
institutions are duty-bound to provide ethics education to purchasers and users, and should commit publicly to standards of corporate conduct; and
vendors, system purchasers, and users should encourage and assist in each others’ efforts to adopt best practices.