Hi Amelia,
Patients need information, knowledge, understanding and the tools to apply them when they:
- reach a new biological life event or choice
- develop symptoms of disease or unwell essential
- develop an acute illness or longterm illness
The information, knowledge, understanding and tools come from many sources and in many forms and research shows that medical record access aids compliance to treatment, reduced attendance at emergency departments, greater safety and greater trust.
Patients with longterm conditions provide 99% of their own care, yet they mainly cannot see their own records. It is an unfortunate historic oversight.
Sharing digital records is easier than sharing paper records but both serve the same purposes. Images, pictures and diagrams have a much greater success rate of explaining disease and medical interventions.
R
HIFA profile: Richard Fitton is a retired family doctor - GP. Professional interests: Health literacy, patient partnership of trust and implementation of healthcare with professionals, family and public involvement in the prevention of modern lifestyle diseases, patients using access to professional records to overcome confidentiality barriers to care, patients as part of the policing of the use of their patient data Email address: richardpeterfitton7 AT gmail.com