Attitudes of pregnant women towards personally controlled electronic, hospital-held, and patient-held medical record systems: a survey study.

BACKGROUND

On July 1, 2012 the Australian Government launched the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR). This article surveys obstetric patients about their medical record preferences and identifies barriers to adoption of the PCEHR.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A survey study was conducted of antenatal patients attending a large Australian metropolitan hospital. Consecutive patients completed questionnaires during the launch phase of the PCEHR system. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected on demographics, computer access and familiarity, preference for medical record system, and perceived benefits and concerns.

RESULTS

Of 528 women eligible to participate, 474 completed the survey (89.8%). Respondents had high levels of home access to a computer (90.5%) and the Internet (87.1%) and were familiar with using computers in daily life (median Likert scale of 9 out of 10). Despite this, respondents preferred hospital-held paper records, and only one-third preferred a PCEHR; the remainder preferred patient-held records. Compared with hospital-held paper records, respondents felt a PCEHR would reduce the risk of lost records (p<0.0001) and improve staff communication (p<0.0001). However, there were significant concerns about confidentiality and privacy of the PCEHR (p<0.0001) and lack of control (p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Consumers see advantages and disadvantages with the PCEHR, although the majority still prefer existing record systems. To increase uptake, confidentiality, privacy, and control concerns need to be addressed.