TY - JOUR
T1 - Experiences from patients in mental healthcare accessing their electronic health records
T2 - results from a cross-national survey in Estonia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden
AU - Fagerlund, A. J.
AU - Bärkås, Annika
AU - Kharko, A.
AU - Blease, C. R.
AU - Hagström, J.
AU - Huvila, I.
AU - Hörhammer, I.
AU - Kane, B.
AU - Kristiansen, E.
AU - Kujala, S.
AU - Moll, J.
AU - Rexhepi, H.
AU - Scandurra, I.
AU - Simola, S.
AU - Soone, H.
AU - Wang, B.
AU - Åhlfeldt, R. M.
AU - Hägglund, M.
AU - Johansen, M. A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/7/2
Y1 - 2024/7/2
N2 - Background: Patients’ online record access (ORA) enables patients to read and use their health data through online digital solutions. One such solution, patient-accessible electronic health records (PAEHRs) have been implemented in Estonia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. While accumulated research has pointed to many potential benefits of ORA, its application in mental healthcare (MHC) continues to be contested. The present study aimed to describe MHC users’ overall experiences with national PAEHR services. Methods: The study analysed the MHC-part of the NORDeHEALTH 2022 Patient Survey, a large-scale multi-country survey. The survey consisted of 45 questions, including demographic variables and questions related to users’ experiences with ORA. We focused on the questions concerning positive experiences (benefits), negative experiences (errors, omissions, offence), and breaches of security and privacy. Participants were included in this analysis if they reported receiving mental healthcare within the past two years. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise data, and percentages were calculated on available data. Results: 6,157 respondents were included. In line with previous research, almost half (45%) reported very positive experiences with ORA. A majority in each country also reported improved trust (at least 69%) and communication (at least 71%) with healthcare providers. One-third (29.5%) reported very negative experiences with ORA. In total, half of the respondents (47.9%) found errors and a third (35.5%) found omissions in their medical documentation. One-third (34.8%) of all respondents also reported being offended by the content. When errors or omissions were identified, about half (46.5%) reported that they took no action. There seems to be differences in how patients experience errors, omissions, and missing information between the countries. A small proportion reported instances where family or others demanded access to their records (3.1%), and about one in ten (10.7%) noted that unauthorised individuals had seen their health information. Conclusions: Overall, MHC patients reported more positive experiences than negative, but a large portion of respondents reported problems with the content of the PAEHR. Further research on best practice in implementation of ORA in MHC is therefore needed, to ensure that all patients may reap the benefits while limiting potential negative consequences.
AB - Background: Patients’ online record access (ORA) enables patients to read and use their health data through online digital solutions. One such solution, patient-accessible electronic health records (PAEHRs) have been implemented in Estonia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. While accumulated research has pointed to many potential benefits of ORA, its application in mental healthcare (MHC) continues to be contested. The present study aimed to describe MHC users’ overall experiences with national PAEHR services. Methods: The study analysed the MHC-part of the NORDeHEALTH 2022 Patient Survey, a large-scale multi-country survey. The survey consisted of 45 questions, including demographic variables and questions related to users’ experiences with ORA. We focused on the questions concerning positive experiences (benefits), negative experiences (errors, omissions, offence), and breaches of security and privacy. Participants were included in this analysis if they reported receiving mental healthcare within the past two years. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise data, and percentages were calculated on available data. Results: 6,157 respondents were included. In line with previous research, almost half (45%) reported very positive experiences with ORA. A majority in each country also reported improved trust (at least 69%) and communication (at least 71%) with healthcare providers. One-third (29.5%) reported very negative experiences with ORA. In total, half of the respondents (47.9%) found errors and a third (35.5%) found omissions in their medical documentation. One-third (34.8%) of all respondents also reported being offended by the content. When errors or omissions were identified, about half (46.5%) reported that they took no action. There seems to be differences in how patients experience errors, omissions, and missing information between the countries. A small proportion reported instances where family or others demanded access to their records (3.1%), and about one in ten (10.7%) noted that unauthorised individuals had seen their health information. Conclusions: Overall, MHC patients reported more positive experiences than negative, but a large portion of respondents reported problems with the content of the PAEHR. Further research on best practice in implementation of ORA in MHC is therefore needed, to ensure that all patients may reap the benefits while limiting potential negative consequences.
KW - EHRs
KW - Electronic health records
KW - Mental healthcare
KW - Online record access
KW - ORA
KW - PAEHR
KW - Patient-accessible electronic health records
KW - Humans
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Male
KW - Patient Access to Records
KW - Young Adult
KW - Sweden
KW - Norway
KW - Finland
KW - Mental Health Services/statistics & numerical data
KW - Adolescent
KW - Female
KW - Adult
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Aged
KW - Electronic Health Records/statistics & numerical data
KW - Estonia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85197430005&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/context/psy-research/article/1760/viewcontent/s12888_024_05916_8.pdf
U2 - 10.1186/s12888-024-05916-8
DO - 10.1186/s12888-024-05916-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 38956493
AN - SCOPUS:85197430005
SN - 1471-244X
VL - 24
JO - BMC Psychiatry
JF - BMC Psychiatry
IS - 1
M1 - 481
ER -