Healthcare Stakeholders´ Perspectives on the Use of Online Medical Records

We sought to study medical stakeholders´ attitudes toward patient´s access to their own medical records via a secure Internet application. We run a quantitative survey among stakeholders focusing on the possibility of providing online medical records for better communication in the healthcare sector. We found that patients varied in their views on using online medical records and having an option for online communication with healthcare staff and that medical and non-medical staff have a different opinion concerning patients having online access to their record. However, all stakeholders believed that the use of the technology would enhance the patients´ understanding of their conditions and improve their relations with healthcare staff. The potential benefit of online medical records to share the workload between the healthcare providers and their patients is highlighted.