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Unintended consequences of patient online access to health records: a qualitative study in UK primary care

Turner, A; Morris, R; McDonagh, L; Hamilton, FL; Blake, S; Farr, M; Stevenson, F; ... Horwood, J; + view all (2022) Unintended consequences of patient online access to health records: a qualitative study in UK primary care. Research Square: Durham, NC, USA. Green open access

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Abstract

Background: Health systems around the world are seeking to harness digital tools to promote patient autonomy and increase the efficiency of care. One example of this policy in England is online patient access to full medical records in primary care. Since April 2019, all NHS England patients have had the right to access their full medical record prospectively, and full record access has been the “default position” since April 2020. / Aim: To identify and understand the unintended consequences of online patient access their medical record. / Design and Setting: Qualitative interview study in 10 general practices in South West and North West England. / Method: Semi-structured individual interviews with 13 patients and 16 general practice staff with experience of patient online access to health records. / Results: Online access generated unintended consequences that negatively impacted patients’ understanding of their health care, for example patients discovering surprising information or information that was difficult to interpret. Online access impacted GPs’ documentation practices, such as when GPs pre-emptively attempted to minimise potential misunderstandings to aid patient understanding of their health care, in other cases, negatively impacting the quality of the records and patient safety when GPs avoided documenting their speculations or concerns. Contrary to assumptions that practice workload would be reduced, online access introduced extra work, such as managing and monitoring access and taking measures to prevent possible harm to patients. / Conclusion: The unintended consequences described by both staff and patients show that to achieve the intended consequences set out in NHS policy additional work is necessary to prepare records for sharing and prepare patients about what to expect. It is crucial that practices are adequately supported and resourced to manage the unintended consequences of online access now that it is the default position.

Type: Working / discussion paper
Title: Unintended consequences of patient online access to health records: a qualitative study in UK primary care
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1256673/v1
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1256673/v1
Language: English
Additional information: This is an Open Access paper published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: General Practice, EHR, Unintended consequences, Digital first primary care, Digital health, qualitative interviews, electronic health records
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Primary Care and Population Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10142038
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