Patients' access to health records

Editorial

Patient access to full general practice health records
The UK government’s commitment to provide it should be realised

Healthcare decision making should be democratised
Post-pandemic health reforms should prioritise wide public and patient consultation and collaboration

New US rule mandates full access to EHRs
Patients and clinicians should embrace the opportunities

Patients’ access to health records
Patients and clinicians are equally frustrated by the slow pace of change

Analysis

Patient empowerment through online access to health records
Rapid, convenient, and full access to personal electronic health records is a key part of empowering patients to manage their health and collaborate with healthcare, argue Maria Hägglund and colleagues

Partnership in Practice

Access to personal electronic health records during covid-19
Zoe Warwick, consultant in sexual and reproductive health in Plymouth, and early adopter of Patients Know Best for HIV patients in 2014, describes the roll out and use of EHRs in an NHS Trust post covid-19

Co-development of OurDX
A group of US doctors, researchers, and patient partners describe how they developed an online tool to facilitate patient and family engagement in the diagnostic process

Opinion

Empowering underserved groups through access to electronic health records
Patients need support to ensure that access to electronic health records doesn’t create another digital divide

When patients are victims: access to online records and medical misconduct
Greater transparency can help patients and clinicians to identify and raise concerns, says Charlotte Blease

US experience with transparent medical records should reassure doctors
Studies generally show that patients benefit and any negative effects on doctors are limited, say Catherine DesRoches and colleagues

Digital connections to improve India’s health
Digitising healthcare records in India offers many opportunities, says Surajit Nundy

Charlotte Blease: We need to talk about “closed notes”
Lack of easy access to personal health records is associated with adverse consequences for patients, writes Charlotte Blease

South Korea’s My HealthWay: A “digital highway” of personal health records, but to where?
South Korea’s rollout of a new electronic health record system will give patients greater accessibility and control over their data, but questions about security and privacy remain unanswered, writes Junho Jung

Involving the public across the spectrum of health data usage
Dipak Kalra discusses what he has learnt from speaking to patients and citizens about how their health data are used

A national system of online access by patients to personal health information in Australia is proving valuable
Digital tools that allow people to see their own health data offer the greatest hope for keeping us safe and informed as we encounter our complex health systems, says Meredith Makeham

New German digital project paves the way for online access to personal electronic health records
Marion Grote-Westrick describes the largest digitization project in the German healthcare system

Integrating Opennotes and promoting self management in primary care in Germany
Tobias Esch describes a primary care initiative in Germany at the University of Witten/Herdecke which embedded the use of shared EHRs from the outset

The vision of an electronically connected NHS comes closer
Richard Smith on the roll out of EHRs in UK via Patients Know Best

Nordic countries lead new initiative on patient access to EHRs
Maria Hagglund describes how Nordic countries are taking a lead via the new NORDeHEALTH research project

Electronic health records in Sweden—how can we go from transparency to collaboration?
Maria Hagglund describes how Sweden has developed EHRs

Feature

How health data have been used during covid-19, and whether the changes are here to stay
The pandemic has rewritten the rules on accessing and using health data. Chris Stokel-Walker looks at how covid-19 has changed what is allowed, and whether things will go back to normal after the crisis has abated

Careers

Empowering patients through technology: GP Amir Hannan
GP Amir Hannan talks to Francesca Robinson about providing his patients with reliable information during the pandemic and encouraging them to access their electronic health records

Practice

Adapting to transparent medical records: international experience with “open notes”
How can clinicians prepare for patients having access to their primary care health record?