Ownership Ownership of the patient record is another issue.
Order a Ownership Ownership of the patient record is another issue. paper today!
Traditional health records have always been the property of the service institution. Patient access to this record could be permitted, but sometimes at a cost. A comprehensive, interoperable EHR would cross institutional boundaries and include patient interaction, making ownership more complex. Because healthcare providers use many of the same data, many questions are currently unanswered: for example, What data will be shared? How will users access these data? Who will be responsible for updating and ensuring data accuracy? Who will store the shared data? Should the concept of ownership and access be completely separate concepts so that those responsible for storing, updating, and ensuring data accuracy are considered data stewards as opposed to the owners of these data? For example, the patient may own the data but the responsibilities of data stewardship may reside with a healthcare institution. Would patients and consumers have access to the data or a subset of the data? What role would the government play in monitoring the access, quality, security, privacy, and confidentiality of patient records?
Consumer consent and access are critical elements of the EHR adoption initiative that has significant implications for healthcare organizations and the issue of ownership. Some healthcare providers may be uncomfortable with the prospect of patients reading their notes and may alter what and how they document to accommodate consumer access. Consumer consent is required for health professionals to retrieve or share patient records to ensure that personal information is not accessed inappropriately. This rule could affect quality of care if the consumer is concerned about confidentiality and denies permission. Ultimately, ownership may be driven by who has control and access to the data; or ownership may become irrelevant as access becomes the driving force in answering these many questions.