Rise in Consumer Demands May Have Profound Effect on EMR Development

The emergence of meaningful use mandates and the development of the electronic medical record markets have given rise to newly developed patient care expectations. The immediacy and ease of access to data has increased patient participation in their own care management and has sparked a growing demand in patient participation in self-care. A recent study has shown that while only a third of US consumers currently have full-access to their patient health information, more than eighty-four percent would like all of that data readily available for personal evaluation.

The growing demand for full-access to personal health information can only mean that new expectations and demands for personal care have emerged that may have a profound effect on the course of future EMR development. Kaveh Safavi, MD has already described such an effect on patient-provider relationships to Healthcare IT News : “Just as consumers can self-manage most other aspects of their lives, they expect to take greater ownership of their medical care, and they are willing to switch to doctors who share their values and are willing to provide access to consumer records.” With the rise in patient expectations, may we see a shift in developing EMR platforms that reflect consumer demand?