Electronic Medical Records Sound Good, Privacy an Issue, Says Survey

The potential benefits of electronic medical records (EMRs) sounds appealing to most people, but when the issue of privacy is raised, many people become concerned about the potential for privacy abuses in EMR systems. However, most have read or heard nothing about EMRs, so public opinion is waiting to be formed.

These are some of the findings of three different surveys, each of which contained some relevant questions on EMRs, which were conducted by Harris Interactive in 2006 and 2005. Two of these surveys were conducted with Dr. Alan F. Westin, Professor of Public Law & Government Emeritus at Columbia University and one of the world's leading authorities on privacy issues in health care and other business and government settings.

In reviewing these results, Dr. Westin commented "Personal medical records have always been rated as highly sensitive by the American public. As programs to automate and interconnect patient medical records across the U.S. health care system proceed, it will be vital to track how patients see this affecting not only the quality and costs of health care, but also the confidentiality, privacy and security of their personal health information."

Many people know virtually nothing about the current campaign to adopt EMRs throughout the U.S. health care system. Only 29 percent claim to have read or heard anything about them. Therefore, it is important to point out that mass public opinion about EMR systems does not yet exist. How public opinion develops, as public knowledge and awareness of EMRs grow, will depend therefore on reports in the media on the advantages and disadvantages they offer.

Public Awareness of Electronic Medical Records
Survey Question: "The Federal government has called for medical and health-care organizations to work with technology firms to create a nationwide system of electronic Medical Records over the next few years. The goal is to improve the effectiveness of patient care, lessen medical errors and reduce the high costs of paper handling. Have you read or heard anything about this program?"

Have read or heard about program	26 %
Have not read or heard about program	62 %
Not sure	12%

However, even though many people know little or nothing about EMR system developments, many of the potential benefits of EMRs are appealing. A majority of people agree with statements that EMRs hold out the promise of:

• Significantly decreasing medical errors (55%)
• Significantly decreasing healthcare costs (60%)
• Improving the quality of care by reducing unnecessary test and procedures (68%)
• A majority also agrees with the suggestion that adoption of EMRs will make it "more difficult to ensure patients' privacy" (62%).

Attitudes Toward Electronic Medical Records
Survey Question: "How strongly do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?"

	Agree Strongly / Somewhat	Agree Strongly
The use of electronic medical records can significantly decrease the frequency of medical errors	55 %	20 %
The use of electronic medical records can significantly reduce healthcare costs	60 %	25 %
The use of electronic medical records makes it more difficult to ensure patients' privacy	62 %	24 %
The use of electronic medical records can improve the quality of care patients received by reducing the number of redundant or unnecessary tests and procedures they receive	68 %	30 %

While very few people (4% of all adults or less) currently use services to be provided by health information technology, substantial majorities of the public say they would like to be able to:

• Receive reminders to revisit their doctors online (77%)
• Communicate with their doctors by e-mail (74%)
• Schedule appointments online (75%)
• Receive the results of diagnostic tests via e-mail (67%)
• Use home monitoring devices, like blood pressure readings or blood tests, and send results to their doctors' offices by telephone or e-mail (57%)

While several aspects of health information technology and EMRs are appealing to many people, a substantial plurality (42% to 29%) of the public believes that the privacy risks of EMRs outweigh the potential benefits.

Benefits and Risks of electronic Medical Records
Survey Question: "Supporters of the new patient electronic record system say that strong privacy and data security regulations will be applied. Critics worry that these will not be applied or will not be sufficient. Overall, do you feel that the expected benefits to patients and society of this patient electronic medical record system outweigh potential risks to privacy, or do you feel that the privacy risks outweigh the expected benefits?"

Expected benefits outweigh potential risks	29 %
Privacy risks outweigh expected benefits	42 %
Not sure	29 %

When presented with a list of four choices as to how they might be notified or consulted about the transition from paper records to EMRs, there is absolutely no consensus. About one in five adults (21%) say they want to be given the right not to have their medical records entered into the new electronic systems. Just over a quarter (27%) say that they want to be notified but would probably "be okay" with this. Twelve percent say they would want to be able to designate what does or does not get entered in their EMRs. Only 22 percent say that they would not need to be notified.