It Seems That In the UK Patients Are Not All That Interested in Their Health Records. Important Lesson for Proposed PCEHR Possibly!

The following appeared a day or so ago.

Low figures for HealthSpace use revealed

8 February 2011 Fiona Barr

Just 60 patients a month - out of almost 5m with a Summary Care Record - are viewing their SCR via the government’s patient portal, HealthSpace.

The latest figures obtained by EHI Primary Care show that patients have so far demonstrated very little appetite for online access to their record via the portal.

The figures have come to light as the Department of Health works on its forthcoming information strategy, in which online access to records for patients is likely to feature prominently.

The DH has described online record access as a “headline objective” for its NHS reforms and this week a spokesperson told EHI Primary Care that an outline business case to enhance the HealthSpace service was in the approvals process.

The previous, Labour government launched HealthSpace’s advanced account in 2007.

This enables patients to view their SCR through the portal, which was originally set up as an online health organiser.

However, in more than three years, fewer than 3,000 patients have chosen to set up such an account.

Just ten primary care trusts are offering patients advanced accounts; 2,971 of their patients had set up an advanced account by 26 January this year; and 673 patients have viewed their SCR via the portal.

More details here:

http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/primary-care/6623/low_figures_for_healthspace_use_revealed

Alert readers will note just how close this portal is, in concept, to the proposed PCEHR. It seems the idea has received the big ‘thumbs down’ in the UK.

I am sure there are all sorts of reasons for this lack of interest could be advanced:

- System was not user friendly.

- The use of the system was not well explained.

- The content was not rich enough to be interesting

- Others I have not thought of.

It is clear the good Professor Greenhalgh’s suggested questions (down further in the article) all need answers, and soon. DoHA and NEHTA should also be very interested!

We need to know, and soon, if the public find this sort of system useful and valuable, or not, before a great deal more money is spent!

David.