Key Findings
- Roughly 2 in 3 of the public and doctors agree that patients should have the option to view and download their personal health information online.
- About 3 in 4 doctors agree that patients should be able to share their information electronically with their doctors.
- Majorities of both groups agree patients should get access to their lab results as soon as their doctors.
- Roughly half of both groups say they should be able to communicate securely online.
- 54 percent of the public agree that patients should control which parts of their records are sent to new doctors.
- 41 percent of the doctors surveyed agree with this statement, 49 percent disagreed
- The 2008 and 2010 Markle surveys are very consistent: Majorities of the public say patients should control which parts of their records are transferred.
Observations
- By relatively comparable proportions, the public and physicians agree that patients should be able to have online tools to view, download and share their information.
- Despite this conceptual agreement, actual behavior lags: most don’t communicate online or share information in electronic format.
- The patient-engagement requirements of Meaningful Use of health IT are designed to facilitate such electronic information sharing.
