Does Transparency Promote Engagement? Cancer Patients’ Access of Electronic Medical Records Before and After the Information Blocking Rule

Presentation Time: 11:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Abstract Keywords: Patient Engagement and Preferences, Evaluation, Personal Health Informatics
Primary Track: Policy
Programmatic Theme: Consumer Health Informatics

Access to clinical information is critical to support patient engagement. The 21st Century Cures Act grants patients immediate electronic access to their full medical records. To assess the potential impact of this transparency provision, we conducted a retrospective study in a large cancer center in New York City, focusing on clinically active patients’ accessing health information shared via the patient portal. We identified a significant increase (14%) in the number of pathology and radiology reports read by patients after the implementation of immediate release of reports. No changes were found in the rates of account creation or logins. Our results suggest that oncology patients show strong, consistent interest in their clinical data, with many taking advantage of the full electronic access granted by Cures. These findings shed new light on this legislation’s impact on patient engagement and access to clinical data.

Speaker(s):
Fernanda Polubriaginof, MD PhD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Author(s):
Fernanda Polubriaginof, MD PhD - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; SUSAN CHIMONAS, PhD - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Allison Lipitz-Snyderman, PhD - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Zoe Spiegelhoff; Kenneth Seier, MS - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Charles White, MS - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Joshua Jorvina, BSN, RN, OCN; Gilad Kuperman, MD, PhD - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center;