In 2007, a survey commissioned and funded by Infoway, was conducted to shed light on Canadians opinion of EHR's and its accessibility. Canadians identified the following:
1. Personal information being accessed for mischevious/malicious reasons (45% of respondents)
2. Information may be accessed for information not pertinent to their health in the future (42% of respondents)
3.Those who access the information will not follow security and privacy protocols (37% of respondents)
4. The information may not be accurate (26% of respondents)
5. One in two Canadians are aware of the existance of EHRs (49% of respondents)
6. Canadians' comfort level with EHRs would increase if the ability to determine who was accessing their record was known. (77% of respondents)
7. Public acceptance of EHRs would grow if legislation existed making unauthorized access of records a serious criminal offence (74% of respondents)
8. Canadians would be more open to adopting the EHR if they had direct access to ensure its accuracy and mask sensitive information (68% and 55% of respondents respectively)
9. Canadians believe that recieving high quality healthcare is linked to healthcare professional's timely accessibility to patient health information (87% of respondents)
10. Public optimism in the EHR is growing! 9 in 10 support the ongoing development of the EHR (89% of respondents)
Given these survey results, healthcare professionals have a duty and responsibility to calm the concerns of the public by demonstrating ethical use when accessing the EHR. Health care professionals can demonsrtate ethical, sound decision-making when accessing EHRs to illustrate how EHRs can successfully improve the patient care experience and ultimately improve health outcomes.
Canada Health Infoway (2007). Electronic health information and privacy survey: What Canadians think-2007. Retrieved from http://www2.infoway-inforoute.ca/Documents/EKOS_Final%20report_EN.pdf
