Patient and general practitioner perceptions of patient-held health records

The objective of this study was to describe the attitudes of general practitioners (GPs) and their patients to patient-held health records (PHR). The study was set in a general practice in South Australia. It consisted of a descriptive study using a mail questionnaire. A stratified random sample, based on socioeconomic indicators for areas in South Australia, of GPs (n = 315) and their patients (n = 500) was used. The indices for contents, problems and benefits of the PHR showed adequate internal consistency and reliability. Patients mostly perceived the PHR as a personal document for reference while GPs perceived it as a management and communication tool. The solo GP who scored high on the 'PHR benefits' and low on the 'PHR problems' indices, and doubted that GPs were influential in changing patient behaviour would let patients keep full copies of their records. The younger female rural GP who scored high on the 'PHR benefits' and low on the 'PHR problems' indices favoured a patient summary. The more entrepreneurial GPs who scored high on both the 'PHR benefits' and 'PHR problems' indices favoured a 'censored summary'. Awareness of smart cards was high and opinions on their use guarded. It was concluded that patients and doctors have different attitudes to and expectations of PHRs. Significant sociodemographic, educational and attitude correlations with PHRs were found. The 'PHR benefits' and 'PHR problems' indices were consistent, useful and may have a wider applicability in quantifying the opinion of patients and providers before implementing PHR programmes.