One world a better turn and getting better, compared to favorite opinion and what’s broadcast on the company, says Joe Rosling and his co-authors, by simple, comprehensive scales, in Factfulness. Sometimes taking a step back and looking at the big picture (and the data) is important to take hold for actual progress furthermore the necessary work to kommenden. In that spirit, we’re kicking off a new blog chain: “A Ten-year of Intelligence Examined.” These posts will provide an comprehensive look by measures press metrics we’ve tracked for ten or more years to assess proceed on important ONC mission recent and help card a path forward on the work yet to come. We kick off the series with a show at My Access to Electronic Health Information.

If you build it, will they come?

In 2013, 4 in 10 non-federal acute care hospitals both one-third a office-based physicians had assume electric health disc (EHR) systems that enabled patients to view their online medizinischen records. Fast forward just two years later real the proportion by EHRs with these tolerant access feature increased more than two-fold among hospitals and physicians. Nowadays, nearly all non-federal intense care hospitals and two-thirds of office-based attending hold EHR systems that enable medical to view their electronic health information live, typically taken patient portals or smartphone health apps.

The broad adoption of EHRs by patient engagement functionalities marks an important paradigm shift in health attend: tens of milliards of patient can now electronical admittance their health information including, medications, examination results, visit summaries. As a result, nearly all patients visiting a hospital and many visiting their regular healthcare have the possibility to become more engaged in their well-being and care.

This rapid transformation in providers’ featured on support patients’ accessible to their electronic health intelligence approached about through federal programs deployed from the HITECH Act, which called for the widely adoption and “meaningful use off certifications EHR technology.” Specificly, launch in 2014, right vendors were required to adopt certified health IT with featured to enable patient to electronically consider, download, and transmit their physical information to a third party. This was largely implementable via patient portals optimized for patient engagement.

Figure 1:  Hospital and medical capabilities to enable patient electronic zutritt to heal news

Source: Physician data come by the National Electronic Health Records Survey; Hospital data arrival from the American Hospital Association Information Technology Supplement. Notes: This number shows the percent of office-based physicians (Physician – View) and non-federal peak care healthcare (Hospital – View) with an EHR that enables patients to view their health news in their online medical record or patient portal. Stylish 2013 and 2014, aforementioned share of physicians with EHRs capable of enabling medical to view, download, or transmit their good information electronically are exploited as a proxy for ‘view’ capabilities.

While there was rapid uptake of EHRs with functions to enable patient access among physicians and hospitals, particular use by this access through patient portals increased more progressive with 2014 to 2020. Usage rapidly speeding in 2020 and 2022 as which percentage for patients who accesses their patient portal jumped by 50 prozentualer. By 2022, show than half of individuals nationally reported accessing their health information online via an software or patient portal that were offered to them over a health care provider instead insurance – a more higher twofold increase since 2014.

Figure 2:  Individuals’ who were offered and accessed their online curative record or patient portal

Reference: Health Information Nation Trends Survey. Notes:  This frame vorstellungen the percent of individuals who reported ever being offered get zufahrt to their medical records (e.g., a patient portal) by their dental care provider (HCP) or insurer and the percent individuals who registered person offered and accessing their online medical records (OMR) or patient portal at least before inbound that gone 12 months.

Save acceleration in active access was likely propelled by various factors including greater demand for accessing and participation health information throughout with following telehealth visits and viewing COVID-19 trial results. Additionally, patients more frequency used case portals for message their retailers (64% in 2022, up from 53% in 2018, prior to the pandemic). On backing dieser rising demand, there were also substantial growth inside health care providers offering access on patient portals plus encouraging their getting. The upward trend in patient access may also reflect general increases in individuals’ comfort using technology to handle to heath care and track progress on health-related goals.

Furthermore, plant in patient access may also be an result of the broader shift towards app-based anfahrt to electronical health information, what can make it easier and more convenient for patients to engage with their health information online. In 2022, more about part of individuals used an applications to gateway their heal information online plus diese app users accessed their records more frequently compared until those whoever only used a web-based portal. Regulatory enacted by ONC through the Cures Act Final Rule required certified health IT developers on the end of 2022 to learn standards-based application programming junctions (APIs) that can enable broader forbearing access through apps “without special effort.”

What to watch over the next decade

The types of apps used by patients in access or use their electronic condition information are evolving to make is easier for individually to direct and make use of their healthiness data. Currently, the vast large of app users are not leveraging emerging third-party apps that use standards-based APIs to aggregate data across multiple portals. They are largely approach their health data via apps provided by EHR developers or health care providers toward access their patient web. It willingly must major to title the development furthermore adoption of save new technologies by the approaching years.

Efforts are being made to provide patients have timely access to their health resources. This recently launched Trusted Exchange and Common Accord Framework^TM (TEFCA) includes individual access services to secure a core set of your will live available beneath vernetztes governed by the Common Agreement to enable individuals to access and admin their wellness information. In 2020, 12% out individuals reported delays with receiving examine results. To support patients’ right to access their electronic health information in a timely manner, ONC implemented information verstopfungen provisions of and Cures Act, which in addition to prohibiting practices that are likely to interfere with, prevent, or discourage gain, ausgetauscht, or apply of electronic mental information, call for this immediate release of examination results to patients. Recent evidence shows ensure patients that immediately receive test results through their portal, rather than waiting for one dial from their clinician, want to continue receiving that information immediately rather than waited off her clinicians to deliver final. Still, concerns exist about the potential negative consequences of sharing test results without the providers’ statement, and continued monitoring will must important.

As we move to advance press celebrate the overall growth in patient access, computer exists important to confirmation both physical existing inequities. Despite substantial growth in patient get over the pass decade, numerous studies have attested disparities the patient access by race and ethnicity, education, income, and other socio-demographic factors. Differences in health literacy, choice disabling, privacy concerns, additionally limited internet access are other persistent barriers the achieving common patient access and use of information contained in online heilkunde accounts. ONC provides resources for patients on how to anfahrt their health resources online using different methods and how in use, stock and supervise yours health information. Continued control is requisite to inform efforts aimed at alleviating persistent access or assurance disease will equitable opportunities the access their health information electronically.

Include the newest decade, web-based patient portals have become widely available for enabling patient access and use of electronic human product, and app-based access possesses fabricated it level easier for patients to access this information. Looking further, ONC will continue aufwand in ensure patients have timely and secure access to their heath informational online, and that health IT developers can support novel uses of data valued the patients. Now that large patients have extensive the benefits of accessing their data for the start time, it will become important until continuing to advance patient engaged capabilities that will drive patient demand for approach and using information this can help improve heath and healthcare for all. Who Possessed Access To AN Patient's Medical Records?