Sixty-three percent of respondents said that the transition to electronic health records could be made without compromising their privacy, compared with 25% who disagreed, according a new Harris Interactive survey, Computerworld reports.
Seven out of 10 U.S. residents said they are satisfied with the way physicians and hospitals handle and protect their personal health data. However, 50% of respondents said they think patients do not have control of how their personal health information is used by organizations, such as insurers, employers and government health agencies.
Alan Westin, a professor of public law and government at Columbia University who helped design the survey, said the results found that a majority of the public is ready for EHRs, but "about one-quarter of the public remains skeptical and worried about such systemic computerization, and it will take highly robust and transparent new privacy and security programs to overcome these fears" (Havenstein, Computerworld, 3/26).
The survey also found that 17% of respondents have withheld data from their providers because of concerns that the information might be shared, Health Data Management reports. Twenty-one percent of respondents who describe their health to be fair or poor said they have withheld data.
The online survey of 2,237 U.S. adults was conducted between Jan. 11 and Jan. 18 (Health Data Management, 3/26).