While 70% of U.S. adults indicate that they are generally satisfied with how their personal health information is used, about one-quarter has serious reservations about the confidentiality and security of their health data, according to a Harris Interactive survey of 2,337 U.S. adults. One in six Americans say they withhold information from their health providers due to worries about how the medical data might be disclosed.
Half the respondents also believe that patients have lost control over how their medical records are used by organizations such as life insurers, employers, and government health agencies. The survey also found a strong correlation between health conditions and privacy concerns. Among adults who indicate that their health is either only fair or poor, significantly more have concerns about the confidentiality and security of their health information. “While these results continue to document majority concerns about how confidentiality and security will be handled in electronic health records programs, they also show that about a two-thirds majority are ready to accept the potential benefits of such EHR systems if solid privacy and security rules are applied,” said Alan Westin, PhD, a health privacy expert at Columbia University. “However, about one quarter of the public remains skeptical and worried about such systemic computerization, and it will take highly robust and transparent new privacy and security programs to overcome these fears.”
