title: Accessing personal medical records online: a means to what ends?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Initiatives in the UK to enable patients to access their electronic health records (EHRs) are gathering momentum. All citizens of the European Union should have access to their records by 2015, a target that the UK has endorsed.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify the ways in which patients used their access to their EHRs, what they sought to achieve, and the extent to which EHR access was related to the concept of making savings.
  
  
  METHODS
  An audit of patients' online access to medical records was conducted in July-August 2011 using a survey questionnaire. Two hundred and twenty six patients who were registered with two general practices in the National Health Service (NHS) located in the UK and who had accessed their personal EHRs at least twice in the preceding 12 months i.e. from July 2010 to July 2011, completed the questionnaire. Data analysis A thematic analysis of the comments that patients gave in response to the open ended questions on the questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, evaluations of record access were positive. Four main themes relating to the ways in which patients accessed their records were identified: making savings, checking past activity, preparation for future action, and setting new expectations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quite apart from any benefits of savings in healthcare resources, this study has provided qualitative evidence of the active ways in which patients may make use of access to their EHRs, many of which are in line with proportionate health management strategies. Access to personal EHRs may contribute to the development of new expectations among patients.
authors.affiliation: Multidisciplinary Assessment of Technology Centre for Healthcare (MATCH), Department of Information Systems and Computing, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK.
authors.forename: Syed Ghulam Sarwar
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Manor House Surgery, Manor Street, Glossop, Derbyshire SK13 8PS, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fitton
authors.affiliation: Haughton Thornley Medical Centres, Thornley Street, Hyde, Cheshire SK14 1JY, UK.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hannan
authors.affiliation: Wells Park Practice, 1 Wells Park Road, Sydenham, London SE26 6JQ, UK.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: Multidisciplinary Assessment of Technology Centre for Healthcare (MATCH), Department of Information Systems and Computing, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK. Electronic address: j.c.barnett@bath.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barnett
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D016494:Computer Security; D003219:Confidentiality; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055991:Health Records, Personal; D006801:Humans; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D033283:Patient Access to Records; D017060:Patient Satisfaction
keywords: Electronic health records; General practice; Medical records; National Health Service; Online access; Patient access; Primary care