Survey: Docs Warming to Data Sharing

Three quarters of physicians recently surveyed want to be able to electronically share patient information with colleagues, and nearly half want to share records with patients.

The Markle Foundation commissioned separate surveys of consumers and physicians. Ten percent of responding consumers say they have a personal health record, up from 3 percent in a similar 2008 survey. Seventy percent of surveyed consumers believe patients should get a written or online summary after each physician visit, but only 36 percent of surveyed physicians agreed. Other survey results include:

* Large majorities of consumers and physicians support strengthened privacy protections authorized under the HITECH Act;

* Two-thirds of consumers and three-quarters of physicians support using composite information to detect disease outbreaks, bioterrorism and fraud, and to conduct research and quality programs; and

* 85 percent of surveyed consumers and 36 percent of responding physicians "not very" or "not at all" familiar with the EHR meaningful use incentive programs.

The surveys, conducted in August 2010, included responses from 1,582 consumers and 779 physicians. More information is available at markle.org.

--Joseph Goedert