Consumer access to online health data spotty, usage low

Only about 1 of every 4 consumers has online access to their medical records with less than half of that group using such access, according to a report (PDF) released Monday by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

Among the 28% of patients who have been offered online access to their records, 54% did not access them, according to a 2013 survey conducted by NORC, a social research institute at the University of Chicago, according to the report. Among the major reasons cited for not using online access is a lack of interest (74%), concerns about privacy (28%) and lack of Internet access (23%).

Of those with access, 21% only accessed their data one or two times in the past year while 10% accessed their data six times or more during the past year. Of those who did access their data, 60% found it very useful.

Monitoring their data allowed many patients to correct mistakes (10%), and to share data with someone else (44%).

The push to make patients' online records available, and make sure they're used, is an important element in the electronic health-records incentive package. Stage two EHR meaningful-use requirements stipulate that 50% of patients have online access, and that 5% use their online records.

ONC sees such access as an important element of its efforts to increase patient engagement with their own care.

Follow Darius Tahir on Twitter: @dariustahir