Report Finds Jump in Electronic Health Record Awareness

Digitization of medical records and histories and making them accessible via the Internet is viewed as a means of enhancing health and medical care, as well as cutting costs -- if carried out judiciously and with personal privacy and data security foremost in mind. As a study from the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPW&F) reveals, it can also lead to higher levels of interest and greater engagement on the part of patients. Over four in five patients (86 percent) with online access to their health records accessed them at least once, and more than half (55 percent) three times or more a year, according to NPW&F’s “Engaging Patients and Families: How Consumers Value and Use Health IT.”