This appeared a little while ago.
Study: Patients more likely to lie when physicians use EHRs
July 30, 2014
Worries about privacy or security may keep some patients from being honest about their medical history when they see their physician entering the information into a computer, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
Medical privacy and security concerns involving electronic health records are prevalent among patients. The majority of patients — 83 percent — expect hospitals to use electronic health records, but only 53 percent said they trust the safety and security of EHRs, according to a poll by Morning Consult.
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There is also coverage here:
Patients of EHR-users more likely to withhold information
July 28, 2014 | By Marla Durben Hirsch
A provider's use of an electronic health record can cause a patient to clam up for fear that the data won't be secure, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA).
The researchers, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Dartmouth College, noted that EHRs are a "double-edged sword" in that they're perceived as improving the quality of care but also are seen as having privacy and security risks. Using a nationally representative sample from the 2012 Health Information National Trends Survey, they found that 13 percent of respondents reported having withheld information from their provider because of privacy and security concerns.
The researchers then conducted bivariate and multivariate studies to see if there was a correlation between this non-disclosure and whether the provider used an EHR. The initial bivariate study found no correlation. However, when the researchers factored in the patient's global assessment of quality, there was a positive link between the provider's use of an EHR and the patient's withholding of information.
Patients have become increasingly aware of the privacy and security risks inherent in electronic data. Many of the data breaches of patient protected health information that have been reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services involve electronic data in EHRs and laptops.
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I have to say I would not have picked this as the way people would behave. Given the publicity of data breaches in the US I wonder would we see the same effect in Australia where it is not such a large public issue?
David.
While security is a concern, there is also the fear many have of doctor's picking up on something years ago; following along with a mis-recorded entry; or fixating on something utterly irrelevant. I've experienced the last as a particular annoyance with a previous GP clinic with a new doctor who couldn't get my transsexual history out of her mind when I presented with something really rather mundane. Having now changed to a different GP, I have 'neglected' to convey that information because it's not relevant to anything.
ReplyDeleteNever mind that old records may misrepresent current reality and that doctors something enter erroneous information. Alas, another doctor is likely to start off in a state worse than ignorance because of old records which, in electronic form, follow one everywhere for one's entire life.
We're being told about the alleged benefits of electronic records and they are being foisted upon us, without any real regard to their effect on us, the clients of doctors.
Actually the study does not say this at all - its showed that people withheld information *independently* of whether records were electronic or paper. From the abstract:
ReplyDelete"Results 13% of respondents reported having ever withheld information from a provider because of privacy/security concerns. Bivariate analysis showed that withholding information was unrelated to whether respondents’ providers used an EHR."
Ellen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all that - very useful for readers here...
David.