The Electronic Health Record is globally accepted as a necessity:

• to better meet patient expectations,
• to expedite many tedious work processes such as prescription writing and creation of chart notes, service administration, research, planning and audit, communication between patients and providers, fiscal governance
• to create new ways in which the health of our patients can be improved
• to improve cost efficiency due to raising demands of healthcare and the aging population
• Portability - travel, second opinions, emigration, working abroad, distant working and support for developing countries and as part of aid, war, famine and assistance to refugees While professional experience with the EHR is generally positive, there are even more opportunities for improving care with the EHR once patients have access to their own records.

Evidence-based benefits include:

• Improving the relationship between clinician and patient
• Improving trust between patient and clinician
• Practical support for patients in managing their health
• Improving compliance
• Patients feel empowered to make decisions about their health?
• More efficient use of consulting time

The Record Access Collaborative is being developed as a service to the public, patients, health services and industry. The aim is to bring together those across the world who have an interest in seeing record access more widely available and maximising benefits that flow from it and to be instrumental in managing practical and technical aspects concerning patient record access in relation to local/national policies.
Read more on the goals of the RAC.

RAC Newsletter December 2007

Source:

“Welcome to the Record Access Collaborative Progress Report which covers the last 3 months or so. As always activity and developments in the field have been steady.
In the UK, Wales is developing full records access to practices. HealthSpace has begun its pilots, accompanied as always by controversy. EMIS/PAERS has gone national, switching on all EMIS practices for record access if they want to take it up.
In Europe, we feature France and Germany as they begin trials of record access. In the US, Microsoft and Google are entering the field, stimulating a lot of controversy, reflected here.
Patient experiences are featured again and remain very positive.
As an introduction, however, we feature 2 important contributions. The first is a letter from the GMC endorsing record access in principle – we see this as reassuring to clinicians. Also, a link to an interesting and balanced overview of record access from the BMJ.”
Newsletter
Brian Fisher, December 2007

7 January 2008 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA General, RA News, RAC, Record Access | EHR: EHR

RAC Newsletter July 2007

Source:

“As usual, there has been a lot going on, both in the UK and elsewhere.
In the UK, the highlights are perhaps:

• the Early Adopter sites for the Summary Care Record going live in 2 areas of the UK.
• The continuing enlargement of the 100 practice pilot enabling an increasing number of practices to enable full patient record access
• The pushing forward of the eHealthCard that is now being offered to practices in the UK
• The resignation of Richard Granger who runs the IT programme in the UK. This may offer a more open approach to IT development

In Europe, the recent ICMCC conference in Amsterdam highlighted record access and offered a number of concrete developments, in Estonia, the Czech Republic and in the Netherlands.
But first, developments outside Europe.”
Newsletter
Brian Fisher, July 2007

16 July 2007 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA General, RA News, RAC, Record Access | EHR: EHR

RAC Contribution by Denis Protti

Source:

A rare treat! We have an original article by Prof Denis Protti, Professor, Health Information Science at University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, written especially for this Record Access Collaborative edition.
[ More ]

4 June 2007 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA General, RA News, RAC, Record Access | EHR: EHR

RAC Newsletter March 2007

Source:

“The record access collaborative is being developed as a service to the public, patients, the NHS and industry. The aim is to bring together those who have an interest in seeing record access more widely available and maximising benefits that flow from it.
The NHS has made a clear statement of principle that patients should be able to access their records, subject to legal safety restrictions. There is good evidence of substantial benefits for patients.”
Newsletter
Brian Fisher, March 2007

29 March 2007 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA General, RA News, RAC, Record Access | EHR: EHR

Mayo Clinic’s first free patient app offers medical record access

Source: Brian Dolan, mobihealthnews

“The Mayo Clinic offered up its first free mobile app for patients this week, according to a report over at MedCity News. While Mayo has more than a dozen apps in Apple’s AppStore for both the iPhone and the iPad, MedCity points out that none of those were free patient-facing apps — until now.
[ More ]

17 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Applications, mHealth, Patient

Record access by 2015 a ‘tall order’

Source: e-Health Insider

“The Government pledge to give all patients access to their electronic health records by October 2015 is a “tall order” for busy GPs to fulfill, says Dame Fiona Caldicott.
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14 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access, UK EHR | Country: UK | EHR: EHR, EHR UK | Tags: Access, Patient

Compromise On Health Data Access May Be Ugly

Source: Marianne Kolbasuk McGee, InformationWeek Healthcare

“The government’s proposed rule for Meaningful Use Stage 2 and the comment period that ended earlier this week kicked off a battle between patients and providers. At the heart of the war is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposal that patient information be available to the individuals within 36 hours of discharge from a hospital and within 24 hours of an office visit.
[ More ]

11 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Hospitals, Patient

Patient Advocates Urge Fast Access To Hospital Data

Source: Neil Versel, InformationWeek

“An organization aimed at promoting collaboration among patients, medical professionals, families, and other caregivers is fuming about an American Hospital Association (AHA) recommendation that hospitals be given 30 days to release data in electronic health records (EHRs) after patients request access.
[ More ]

11 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Patient

Society: Give patients ‘immediate’ access to EHR data

Source: Marla Durben Hirsch, FierceEMR

“The Society for Participatory Medicine (SPM) has expressed concern that proposed delays in allowing patients access to their EHR records under Stage 2 of the Meaningful Use EHR incentive program are “arbitrary” and will hurt patient care.
[ More ]

11 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Patient

Experts: Use patients to reduce errors in electronic records

Source: Marla Durben Hirsch, FierceEMR

“Giving patients better access to their electronic health records is not only part of Stage 2 of Meaningful Use. It’s also an effective way to improve the quality of the data,
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11 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Medical Errors, Patient

Is This Patient Privacy Crusader Doing More Harm Than Good?

Source: Zina Moukheiber, Forbes

“If the electronic health records industry has a nemesis, it’s Deborah Peel, the founder of Patient Privacy Rights. At a time when doctors and hospitals are digitizing their paper medical records as mandated by the government, Peel, a psychiatrist, has been the most vocal agitator against loss of patient privacy.
[ More ]

11 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Consent, Health Information Exchange, Privacy

How private are your medical records? Edmonton family says not private enough

Source: Global Edmonton News

“Could strangers have access to all your electronic health records with just a click of a mouse? A family at the centre of a privacy commissioner investigation tells Global News that because of a flaw in the system, it’s happened to them, and they are now calling on the province to better protect Albertans’ privacy so that it doesn’t happen to others.
[ More ]

10 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: Canada | EHR: EHR, EHR Canada | Tags: Access, Privacy

Enabling Patients to Be Part of Their Care

Source: David Lansky, The Health Care Blog

“In May 2008, when the Roper poll asked a random sample of Americans “If your medical records and personal health information, such as test results and doctor’s instructions, were available to you online, how likely do you think you would be to access those records and information?” Sixty-five percent said they were somewhat, very, or extremely likely to access their records.
[ More ]

6 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Patient

Consumer Advocate Slams AHA Position on Patient Access

Source: Joseph Goedert, HDM Management

“The American Hospital Association has come under heavy criticism from an influential consumer advocate for its position on a proposed Stage 2 meaningful use provision to give patients electronic access to their health information within 36 hours of discharge.
[ More ]

4 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Hospitals, Patient

New blog post: AHA-Erlebnis

Source: Lodewijk Bos, ICMCC

“I am not a US citizen, so I can’t officially react to the latest news from the US patient access front nor put my opinion on the “protest page“. What is going on. First see this post from the Healthcare IT News and following see the post my friend e-Patient Dave wrote about it.
[ More ]

3 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Hospitals, Patient

American Hospital Association declares war on patient empowerment. Please act.

Source: e-Patient Dave, e-patients.net

“The headline above is unusually strong wording, but emails and blogs have been ablaze today with outrage at the comment letter submitted Monday by the American Hospital Association regarding the proposed regulations for Meaningful Use Stage 2. The AHA has effectively said it is neither interested in, nor capable of, giving families the information they need to care for the sick after hospitalization.
[ More ]

3 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | Tags: Access, Health Information, Patient

Don’t Let Them Destroy Patient Protections in Health IT!

Source: Christine Bechtel, Healthcare IT News

“There’s a fight going on about the adoption of health information technology in our country. This fight isn’t necessary and it shouldn’t be happening, but it is happening nonetheless – and patients have a lot at stake.
[ More ]

3 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | Tags: Access, Engagement, Health Information Technology, Patient

Collaborative pushes access to patient info

Source: Jeff Rowe, Healthcare IT The Health Record Review

“In the wake of the survey, the collaborative has invited patients “to read the notes written by their PCPs following office visits, e-mail correspondence, and phone calls. They are able to view these notes via the secure websites
[ More ]

2 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | Tags: Access, Benefits, Notes, Patient, Portal

EHRs: the patient as resource

Source: Charles Wright, eHealthCentral

“Buried in this story from the UK’s eHealth Insider on the fact that the NHS Information Centre is to collect data on which GP practices are offering patients access to their medical records online
[ More ]

2 May 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access, UK EHR | Country: UK | EHR: EHR, EHR UK | Tags: Access, Benefits, Patient

Doctors can now use mobile devices to access patient records

Source: The Hamilton Spectator

“Doctors and other authorized health professionals can now use iPads and other mobile devices to access their patients’ health information at 28 hospitals across the Hamilton region and other parts of southern Ontario.
[ More ]

22 April 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: Canada | EHR: EHR, EHR Canada | Tags: Access, mHealth, Physicians

Educating Patients About Authentication

Source: Jeffrey Roman, Healthcare Info Security

“When creating a patient portal that provides access to electronic health records, healthcare organizations must educate patients about the need for authenticating their identities, says Sharp HealthCare CIO Bill Spooner.
[ More ]

18 April 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Authentication, Education, Patient, Portal, Security

NHS Oxfordshire starts rolling out summary care records

Source: HealthTechWire

“NHS Oxfordshire is contacting patients in the county to prepare for the rollout of the Summary Care Record. Every patient registered at a GP practice in Oxfordshire aged 16 years and over is being sent a letter this month to explain what the summary care records are, their benefits, and that patients need to make a choice about whether they have the records or not.
[ More ]

11 April 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access, UK EHR | Country: UK | EHR: EHR, EHR UK | Tags: Access, summary-care-records

The Challenges of Liberating and Aggregating Data for Optimal Patient-Provider Collaboration and Outcomes

Source: Dan Bernstein, Project HealthDesign

“Before a team of clinicians can develop and deploy a good treatment plan, they need the best available information in order to correctly and quickly diagnose a patient’s condition and status.
[ More ]

6 April 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Data, Data Aggregation, Patient, Patient Centric

Nation’s top technology official advocates putting health data in patients’ hands

Source: Jackie Farwell, BDN

“It’s not often that a senior White House official uses the word “awesomeness” in a speech, let alone to describe government health data, but U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park believes in the power of information.
[ More ]

4 April 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: News, RA News, Record Access | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Data, Patient

Empowering citizens with access control mechanisms to their personal health resources

Source: Calvillo J et al, International Journal of Medical Informatics, 2012

Background
Advancements in information and communication technologies have allowed the development of new approaches to the management and use of healthcare resources. Nowadays it is possible to address complex issues such as meaningful access to distributed data or communication and understanding among heterogeneous systems. As a consequence, the discussion focuses on the administration of the whole set of resources providing knowledge about a single subject of care (SoC). New trends make the SoC administrator and responsible for all these elements (related to his/her demographic data, health, well-being, social conditions, etc.) and s/he is granted the ability of controlling access to them by third parties. The subject of care exchanges his/her passive role without any decision capacity for an active one allowing to control who accesses what.
[ More ]

24 April 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: Patients, RA Research, Record Access, Science | EHR: EHR | Tags: Access, Distributed systems, Empowerment, integration, Medical Informatics, Patient, Semantic

Access to Radiologic Reports via a Patient Portal: Clinical Simulations to Investigate Patient Preferences

Source: Johnson AJ et al, Journal of the American College of Radiology, 9(4)

Purpose
The aim of this study was to determine (1) the patient-preferred timing characteristics of a system for online patient access to radiologic reports and (2) patient resource needs and preferences after exposure to reports.
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3 April 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: Patients, RA Research, Record Access, Science | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Patient, Portal, Radiology

Improving Electronic Health Records Retrieval Using Contexts

Source: Prados-Suárez B et al, Expert Systems with Applications, 2012

This paper aims to solve a recently arose problem, related to the access to the Electronic Health Records (EHR) in the Hospitals. Due to the digitalization of the information contained in the medical records, and the growing availability of devices that directly generate digital documents to include in it, the EHR are becoming unmanageable. Even more, to find a concrete item of information relevant for a given assistance act is a very hard, difficult and time-consuming task. To solve it we propose here the definition of contexts of access to the EHR, to exploit the logical division of the information inside each document in the EHR into data groups, and the computation of the pertinence of each data group to each context.
[ More ]

6 February 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: Clinicians, RA Research, Record Access, Science | EHR: EHR | Tags: Access, Context

Electronic health record goes personal world-wide

Source: Li YC et al, Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 2009(1)

OBJECTIVE
Increasing patient demand for convenient access to their own healthcare data has led to more personal use of the Electronic Health Record (EHR). With “consumer empowerment” being an important issue of EHR, we are seeing a more “patient-centric” approach of EHR from countries around the world. Researchers have reported on issues in EHR sharing including concerns on privacy and security, consumer empowerment, competition among providers, and content standards. This study attempts to analyze prior research and to synthesize comprehensive, empirically-based conceptual models of EHR for personal use.
[ More ]

29 January 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: Patients, RA Research, Record Access, Science | EHR: EHR | Tags: Access, Patient, phr

Lessons learned from usability testing of the VA’s personal health record

Source: Haggstrom DA et al, J Am Med Inform Assoc, 18 Suppl 1

In order to create user-centered design information to guide the development of personal health records (PHRs), 24 patients participated in usability assessments of VA’s MyHealtheVet program. Observational videos and efficiency measures were collected among users performing four PHR scenarios: registration and log-in, prescription refill, tracking health, and searching for health information. Twenty-five percent of users successfully completed registration. Individuals preferred prescription numbers over names, sometimes due to privacy concerns.
[ More ]

6 January 2012 | No Comments »
Categories: Patients, RA Research, Record Access, Science | Country: United States | EHR: EHR, EHR USA | Tags: Access, Patient, phr, Usability