Patient Can’t Always Access Complete Medical Records, Doctors Say

“It can make them feel more a part of the healthcare experience, and empower them to engage in shared decision making,” Walker says by email.

Preventing errors is another big advantage of electronic records, says Dr. Dean Sittig, a researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, who wasn’t involved in the essay.

“Without an electronic health record, it is very difficult if not impossible to check whether the right medications were given at the right time, to the right patients,” Sittig says.