Patient Access to Personal Health Information: Regulation vs. Reality

Patient-centered healthcare initiatives are underway to enable patients to take more responsibility for their healthcare. To do so, patients must be able to access, utilize, and share their health information. Access to health information through patient portals and other electronic means is increasing with the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), but not all providers have EHRs or patient portals and not all information may be available electronically. Patients are expected to continue to request paper and electronic copies of their medical records. This research project was initiated to obtain up-to-date data regarding health information management (HIM) practices related to patients' access to their health information.