Source

2012 Consumer Survey of Attitudes Toward the Privacy and Security Aspects of Electronic Health Records and Health Information Exchange.

Citation

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. 'Americans' Trust in Provider Health Information Safeguards Links to Support for Electronic Health Records,' Health IT Quick-Stat #19. https://www.healthit.gov/data/quickstats/consumer-support-electronic-health-records. March 2014.

As the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchange (HIE) expands, and patient health information is increasingly stored and shared by providers electronically, it is important to monitor patient trust in providers' ability to keep that information private and secure. A data-brief was prepared to report on individuals' perceptions about the measures put in place by providers to protect EHRs, and its association with support for EHRs, HIE and patient-provider communication. Overall, 84% of individuals either strongly agree or agree that health care providers have measures in place that provide reasonable protections for EHRs.

Read the data brief: ONC Data Brief #15.

Survey Question Overall Agreement* Strongly Agree Agree< Disagree Strongly Disagree
*Note: see Note [1] below
Health care providers have measures in place that provide a reasonable level of protection for electronic health records today. 84% 14% 70% 13% 3%
Consumer Attitude/Behavior by Degree of Agreement that Providers Reasonably Protect EHRs
I want my health care providers to use an electronic medical record to store and manage my health information despite any concerns I might have about privacy and security. 75% 87% 82% 50% 17%
I want my health care providers to use a computer to share my medical record with other providers treating me despite any concerns I might have about privacy and security. 74% 84% 79% 58% 29%
Have you ever kept information from your health care provider because you were concerned about the privacy or security of your medical record? 7% 4% 7% 8% 33%
  1. *Overall Agreement is the weighted average degree of agreement for each survey question.
  2. Figure above excludes 6.7% of individuals who refused or responded "Don't know".
  3. Results provide data for ONC Budget Performance Measure 1.F.1: "Percent of Americans Who Agree that the Privacy and Security Measures Taken by their Providers Establish Reasonable Protections for Electronic Health Records".