The Canadian Patient Speaks on Electronic Health Records.

Two recent articles cover a very interesting Canadian survey which was sponsored by Canada Health Infoway, The Canadian Privacy Commissional and Canada Health.

To the north, health IT trust is on its way up

By: Joseph Conn / HITS staff writer

Story posted: November 21, 2007 - 5:59 am EDT

Canadians, it seems, have a growing infatuation with healthcare information technology, even though, like Americans, they are concerned about privacy and fearful that their healthcare information could be used against them.

Just out in English and French is a new, 107-page report, Electronic Health Information and Privacy Survey: What Canadians Think—2007, by the federal IT booster agency, Canada Health Infoway, Health Canada and the Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada.

Researchers contacted 2,469 Canadians age 16 and older in June and July for over-the-phone interviews of about 20 minutes in length.

They gave exceedingly high marks to an oft-cited raison d’etre for IT in that 87% of respondents agreed with the statement that it is difficult for doctors and other providers to give high-quality care if they don’t have timely access to their patients’ health information.

And while a hard-core 17% consider information about them held by the healthcare system as not very safe and secure, 40% thought it was “moderately safe and secure” and 39% thought it was “safe and secure.”

But the survey did note that over the past four years there has been an erosion of trust by Canadians in healthcare workers and organizations over whether they would keep their information safe and secure.

Continue reading this very comprehensive article here:

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/FREE/311210023/1029/FREE

and second

Canadians want secure e-health records, says survey

By: Lisa Williams, senior writer, InterGovWorld.com

(Nov 20, 2007 06:00:00)

The majority of Canadians support the development and use of electronic health records (EHRs), but expect that their privacy will be protected in the collection, storage and use of their personal health information.

This was one of the findings of a recent a recent survey sponsored by Canada Health Infoway, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and Health Canada.

The Electronic Health Information and Privacy Survey was conducted by EKOS Research Associates and is based on interviews with approximately 2,500 Canadians last summer.

Minister of Health, Tony Clement said in a statement that the government is committed to pursuing new technologies that improve health-care delivery, while ensuring the privacy of personal information.

"Once fully implemented, private and secure electronic health records will increase efficiencies, reduce wait-times and result in significant savings in our health care system," said Clement.

The poll results concluded that almost two-thirds of Canadians believe there are a few types of personal information that are more important for privacy laws to protect than personal health information, and that almost nine in 10 Canadians support the development of EHRs.

Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada said it's clear that Canadians want the protection of their privacy to be a key factor as the government considers how these highly sensitive records are managed and the potential secondary uses for these data.

Currently, Canada Health Infoway has EHR implementation initiatives underway across Canada, according to its president and CEO, Richard Alvarez.

"This research confirms Canadians support the acceleration of private and secure electronic health records," said Alvarez.

The survey also revealed that 89 per cent of respondents believe the use of EHR systems, compared to the previous paper-based set-up, is better in terms of the overall effectiveness of the health-care delivery.

Continue reading here:

http://www.intergovworld.com/article/59f6d44e0a010408008b33e8e5c4491d/pg1.htm

The full report and the two articles are very much worth reading.

What I find most interesting about all this is that in Canada and to a lesser extent in the US there is widespread public acceptance that – as is said in the second article “respondents believe the use of EHR systems, compared to the previous paper-based set-up, is better in terms of the overall effectiveness of the health-care delivery.”

It would be a fascinating market research exercise to assess just where the Australian public is on all this. I expect that with the lack of leadership that has been so chronically manifested in this area over the last decade we would be lucky to be at half the acceptance level.

The core findings of the study are so obvious as to be totally unremarkable.

First – without patient confidence and trust that their health information is secure – the game is off.

Second – the level of trust drops rapidly the further those who access health information are from actual care delivery, and people essentially require to know if their information leaves their direct carers .

Three – if made secure – electronic records are good things.

This package is in my view indivisible and has to come together for success!

Critical background reading!

David.