As the healthcare industry continues to prioritize securely and efficiently distributing patient data among providers and professionals, we can’t forget to involve the patients and ensure they have access to their electronic health records.
Medical practices, like plenty of today’s businesses, collect their customer’s information for various purposes. Patient data collection and sharing of electronic health records is an essential aspect of a patient’s care and treatment process. That much is evident through patient privacy laws and the advancement of IT security measures surrounding healthcare, such as implementing blockchain. As the healthcare industry continues to prioritize securely and efficiently distributing patient data among providers and professionals, we can’t forget to involve the patients and ensure they have access to their electronic health records.
How Does It Benefit the Patient?
Enabling a patient’s access to their electronic health records and other personal patient data empowers them to stay involved with their health and well-being. It’s information on the patient’s body, so why shouldn’t they be able to examine records of their lab results or treatment history? An informed patient can eliminate the chance for confusion or miscommunication between them and their healthcare provider and other agents involved in their medical care.
Often, people can believe that because a patient may not have a full understanding of their health condition or test results, it might be unnecessary to give patients access to their health records. This notion isn’t true. In fact, more patient resources are available today, which people are keen to use to research and try to understand their health conditions. While this doesn’t replace the need to see the doctor, it puts more power and control back into patients’ hands to make informed decisions about their health with their physicians.
Supporting Physicians Relationship With Their Patients
It’s true that some physicians hold some reservations towards sharing every detail they include in their patients’ electronic health records. Some clinical language can come off as hurtful or insensitive if patients find comments on their weight, lifestyle, mental health, etc. As a physician, the focus of their relationship with their patient should be one of respect and compassion, not cold and clinical. The nature of patient-facing healthcare professions requires the physician to have straight-forward and sometimes difficult conversations with the patient about their health and turn the interaction into a productive one. An electronic health record system supports the physician’s practice of medicine. However, it’s still up to the doctor to maintain an open line of communication with the patient and offer as much transparency on their state of health as possible.
Healthcare IT Services and Solutions from Audley Consulting Group
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