Experiences and opinions of general practitioners with patient online record access: an online survey in England (1 February 2024)

Summary

This study in BMJ Open aimed to describe the experiences and opinions of GPs in England about patients having access to their full online GP health records. 400 registered GPs in England completed an online survey. The results revealed some key findings:

• 91% GPs believed a majority of patients would worry more.
• 85% said they though patients would find their GP records more confusing than helpful.
• 60% believed a majority of patients would find significant errors in their records.
• 70% believed patients would better remember their care plan.
• 60% said patients would feel more in control of their care.
• 89% believed they will/already spend more time addressing patients’ questions outside of consultations.
• 81% said that consultations will/already take significantly longer.
• 72% said they will be/already are less candid in their documentation after online records access.
• 62% believed patients having access to their records would increase their litigation.