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[Do patients and/or physicians have a right to control medical information]
1Department of Health Services Administration, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. tanimoto@nms.ac.jp
Insights
Physicians believe patients and doctors should co-own medical record data like diagnoses. However, physicians alone should control subjective patient details and diagnostic processes, impacting medical information control discussions.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Health Informatics
- Patient Rights
Context:
- The ownership and control of medical information within patient records is a complex and evolving issue.
- Physicians' perspectives are crucial in defining the boundaries of patient and physician rights regarding medical data.
- Advancements in health informatics necessitate a clear understanding of data governance in healthcare.
Purpose:
- To investigate practicing physicians' opinions on the control of various types of medical information.
- To determine whether physicians believe control rights for medical record items belong to the patient, the physician, or both.
- To analyze the relationship between physicians' views on data control and their stance on medical record disclosure.
Summary:
- A survey of physicians revealed differing views on controlling medical record information.
- Over 60% of physicians agreed that both patients and physicians should control personal data like diagnoses and treatment plans.
- Conversely, over 70% believed physicians should solely control information related to the diagnostic process and subjective patient details.
Impact:
- Findings suggest a nuanced approach is needed, with control rights varying by the type of medical information.
- Physicians favoring shared control over subjective information showed greater support for medical record disclosure.
- This research highlights the importance of addressing medical information control as digital health networks expand.
Abstract:
An ongoing debate is underway on whether the right to control medical information required for objective evaluations and uncertain information should belong to the physician. In this study, the opinions of practicing physicians were examined. Information appearing on medical records was divided into 10 items, and physicians were asked whether the right to control each item belonged to the patient and/or the physician. More than 60% the physicians answered that both patients and physician have the right to control information such as the diagnosis, examination findings, informed consent, and treatment. All of these items can be categorized as personal data. On the other hand, more than 70% of the physicians believed that only physicians have the right to control information such as the process to reach a diagnosis, subjective patient information, uncertain information and discussion with other physicians. Those physicians who answered that that both patients and physicians have the right to control information such as subjective patient information were more in favor of the disclosure of medical records than the physicians who were against the patient's right to control such information (p<0.05). The results of this study suggest that the right to control medical information on medical records should be considered separately for each chart item. As the network of medical information advances, the right to control medical information will become a topic of increasing importance.