A new research points out that almost half of the patients don't share vital but sensitive information to health care providers.
Clemson University website publishes a story on Wednesday, December 17, citing that many patients keep plenty of information to themselves.
Along with Indiana University School of Medicine, Eskenazi Health, and Regenstrief Institute, the team conducted a study that ran for 6 months. More than 100 patients participated in the research. They used a special technology where patients could decide which type of information they would share to their health care providers. These data included relating to substance abuse, mental disorders, and sexually transmitted diseases.
Health care providers, on the other hand, were provided access to patients' medical records electronically. If they thought they didn't get more for health care reasons, they could opt to press the "break the glass" icon, which would then reveal all the data they needed, but the system would also record when the files had been accessed, the types of data that could be seen, and the name of the patient.
The study then revealed that almost 50% of the participating patients withhold certain sensitive information to health care providers.
As expected, the reactions of the doctors had been mixed. While others believed that patients have the sole right to determine what to share to their doctors, others, meanwhile, think that the limited access may only get in the way in providing the right treatment and care to the patient.
One of the doctors even mentioned that limited access is counterproductive-that is, because the patient cannot receive the full treatment he or she needs due to lack of proper information, he or she may avoid further care.
It is therefore necessary that patients will be made to feel more confident to share even the most delicate details to their health care providers without compromising their desire to control such information.
You can read the study more extensively in Journal of General Internal Medicine.
