AHRQ: Consumers don’t understand health IT

Consumers need more education about how health information technology will influence their care as electronic health records become more prevalent, according to a study published Sept. 11 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Consumers may also want to have a role in how health IT is designed and used, the agency noted.

The study polled members of several consumer focus groups to gauge their knowledge of EHRs and how health IT could improve healthcare quality. The groups were located in different regions of the country, came from a variety of backgrounds and had different levels of health insurance eligibility. Findings indicated that many people do not understand the emphasis on health IT in the healthcare reform debate.

Although healthcare is a very important issue to most people, “the specific issue of health IT is not because they do not perceive a strong connection between health IT and healthcare quality,” the study found. Participants believed that health IT could affect quality only in limited ways, such as making healthcare more convenient and efficient and avoiding errors caused by poor handwriting.

Focus group members, however, felt strongly about the influence of IT upon the privacy of their personal information. Many of the participants believed that consumers owned their data and needed a role in making sure that their data were secure and used only in ways that they authorized. The participants also said that they should be asked for their consent before their medical data are electronically stored, and many said that they should be able to elect to leave their data in paper format.

Respondents felt that health IT restrictions should be set individually for each consumer instead of setting general rules that applied to all consumers, according to the study.

They also did not trust that health insurers, vendors or government would make their privacy concerns the leading focus in health IT design.

Public education could help explain to consumers how health IT will affect their healthcare experiences and how they can have an influence on how IT is used.

For example, consumer representatives can get involved with government and heath care advisory committees. AHRQ should also expand focus groups, which could provide a baseline of public opinion about health IT and monitor how opinions evolve as health IT is adopted and the public gains more experience with it.

The report is available online.