Consumers’ Preferences for Storing and Sharing Health Information
| Preference | No. (%)a |
|---|---|
| Methods for storing and sharing health information with which respondents were comfortableb | |
| On an editable and readable portable device (n = 169) | 140 (83) |
| At different locations and shared over a secure connection (n = 165) | 131 (79) |
| On a single, central database and shared over a secure connection with the use of a password (n = 162) | 110 (68) |
| Interest in automatic storage of medical information in a database (n=165)c | |
| Yes | 111 (67) |
| No | 54 (33) |
| If not interested in automatic storage, preferences for restricting electronic storage of health information in a database (n = 54)b,c | |
| Determine which clinicians send information that will be included | 45 (83) |
| Determine what types of medical information are included (test results, medication information, etc) | 49 (91) |
| Determine which health care visits will be included (outpatient visit, emergency department visit, hospital stays, etc) | 46 (85) |
| Approve every piece of information | 42 (78) |
| Parties most trusted to regulate the privacy and security of the database (n=152)c | |
| Office practice or physicians organization | 76 (50) |
| Other | 31 (18) |
| Health plan | 24 (16) |
| Hospitals | 11 (7) |
| Government | 10 (7) |
| Length of time physician should be able to access health information through HIE after permission has been given by the patient (n = 167)c: | |
| One week after patient’s visit with physician | 39 (23) |
| One year after permission is given | 27 (16) |
| Continuous access until permission is taken away | 94 (56) |
| Indefinite access | 7 (4) |
| Parties that should be able to view health information in the case of a medical emergency when permission cannot be obtained (n = 168)b,c | |
| Designated family member or friends | 156 (93) |
| Primary care doctor | 158 (93) |
| Other doctors or clinicians (in emergency department or hospital, etc) | 138 (82) |
| No one should access my health information without my permission even in a medical emergency | 21 (13) |
↵a Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding and numbers may not sum to 170 because of missing responses. Actual denominators indicated in parentheses after row entries.
↵b Respondents were to asked to select all options that applied.
↵c Respondents were asked to consider a system where their medical information from different health care visits and clinicians is stored on a central electronic database that their doctors can access (health information exchange, HIE) with their permission.