Description

Giving patients access to their medical records has been proposed as a method for improving medical care by better educating patients and more fully engaging them in medical decision-making. Such access holds promise for educating patients about their medical conditions; improving adherence to medical and lifestyle changes; increasing trust in the physician; better preparing the patient for the office visit; enhancing the patient’s sense of mastery over his or her condition; providing reassurance about prognosis; and allowing patients to correct errors in the medical record.

There are, however, potential drawbacks to letting patients view their medical records, including
increased patient worry; increased demands on physicians’time; interference in the doctor-patient relationship; lost confidentiality of “third party”reports; and offense taken by patients regarding the inclusion of sensitive social,sexual,and psychiatric information.

Various attempts to show patients their medical records, in paper or electronic form, have proven
problematic. Paper records are cumbersome and difficult to distribute. Electronic records have been available for viewing at limited locations and times. As a result, few patients have seen their medical records,and no controlled study of such access has been done. Thus,it is still not clear to what extent patients will derive benefit from having easy access to the full medical record, or whether they will find it confusing and intimidating.