The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Patient Access to Medical Records: How Much Is Too Much?

Patient Access to Medical Records: How Much Is Too Much?

August 8, 2012 • By Thomas R. Collins

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

The law says that rheumatology patients—and all patients—have the right to see and have copies of their medical records, but patients often don’t know the extent of the information within those records, let alone request to see their full files. And their doctors, for whatever reason, generally don’t encourage them to do so.

You Might Also Like
  • Patient Can’t Always Access Complete Medical Records, Doctors Say
  • Patient Access to Electronic Health Records Yields Unexpected Results
  • Letter: True Purpose of Medical Records
Explore This Issue
August 2012
Also By This Author
  • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting: Skin Issues in Rheumatic Diseases Present Challenges

However, technology may be changing that.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

With the growing use of electronic health records—and the availability of portals through which patients could get access to their medical records from their home computers using a username and password—it is becoming easier for patients to have quick access to their medical files.

That’s much more user-friendly than the current system, which can involve the patient coming into the doctor’s office and reviewing the file with a doctor or nurse, or the patient calling and recalling an office before copies are made.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

But the easy access to medical records stemming from technological advances has given rise to questions about the medical benefits to such easy access and about which records rheumatologists and other doctors feel comfortable having patients see and read with the click of a mouse. These questions are now being explored by researchers in the U.S. and Europe.

In the OpenNotes project, primary care physicians (PCPs) with three institutions—Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, the integrated Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania, and Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, which serves a large economically challenged population—have given patients home access to probably the most sensitive of medical records: the doctor’s clinical notes.

Lead researcher Tom Delbanco, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel, says that, until now, notes were the only record at Beth Israel not accessible through a Web portal. The medical center was already ahead of the national curve, but Dr. Delbanco felt they may not be far enough ahead. “What we’re doing is going whole hog and basically saying, ‘Why should that be the doctor’s black box? Why shouldn’t patients have a right to read what we’re thinking? After all, it’s their body,’ ” Dr. Delbanco says.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

What Doctors, Patients Think

Results from the first year of this practice haven’t been released yet—publication is expected in the fall—but the results of a survey done at the study’s start show that there’s trepidation over the practice.

A total of 114 PCPs across the three institutions chose to participate, while 140 turned the invitation down. Sixty-nine percent to 81% of the participating PCPs, compared with 16% to 33% of nonparticipating PCPs, thought open visit notes was a good idea. And 92% to 97% of patients thought it was.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Electronic Health Records, Ethics, Practice Management, Professional Topics, Quality Assurance/Improvement, Technology Tagged With: Education, electronic health record, labs, patient communication, Practice Management, Research, rheumatologist, TechnologyIssue: August 2012

You Might Also Like:
  • Patient Can’t Always Access Complete Medical Records, Doctors Say
  • Patient Access to Electronic Health Records Yields Unexpected Results
  • Letter: True Purpose of Medical Records
  • Ethics Forum: Electronic Health Records Raise Concerns about Physician-Patient Relationship

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2021 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.