For today’s medicine, the ability to create trust and confidence in the patient-provider relationship is essential. Patients want assurance that their private information is being managed in a transparent manner; that their providers are diligent and invested in communicating care; and that their voice matters. With cloud EMRs becoming the new normal in a significant number of clinics and hospitals, we must ask ourselves: will this technology facilitate patient trust?

To know more, click the link at https://digital.ahrq.gov/electronic-medical-record-systems.

Why Patient Trust Matters

Trust is one of the cornerstones of care. When patients feel their provider honors informed consent, guarantees privacy, and will ensure safety, they are more likely to offer truthful health information, and comply with care instructions. Without this trust, patients may find excuses to postpone or delay care, may avoid sharing complete information when seeking care, or even refuse treatment entirely.

Healthcare providers have an inherent interest in patients trusting the system: trust yields quality interactions, communication, and improved health outcomes. This is where cloud EMRs come into play – efficacy is one piece of the equation – technology may also directly impact trust and patient confidence.

Transparency in Data Use

Patients are often concerned about who has access to their own record and/or how their information is being shared. Cloud EMRs allow providers to communicate both transparently and unambiguously to patients about the usual course of data sharing. Providers can document everything in MHM dashboard that indicates which records can be viewed and also sensitive information (who accesses them) through audit trails in addition to explicit secure messaging options. These processes make the presumed cloud hidden system somewhat less confusing for patients.

• Patients can view records online and track updates in real time.
• Access logs provide an exact account of who viewed their data, and when.

In short, visibility is partnership in the eyes of patients. When Electronic Medical Record Systems include patients in the data access forum, patients tend to trust their providers because they fear the unknown of data misuse less and are more open to communication between both parties.

Security That Patients Notice

Security procedures can sometimes feel like they disappear in the background, but patients are demanding reinforcement that their records are secure. Whether it is requiring a secure login or having a set-up for two-factor authentication, cloud-based EMRs take actions that patients can see and appreciate. Even the smallest of signs, such as asking to verify identity before accessing records, provides another data protection cue to enhance patients’ feelings of confidence in the system.

Meanwhile, in daily work, providers use the trusted HIPAA (click here for more) compliant cloud platforms with plenty of encryption privacy tools and formidable access control. Patients may not understand the mechanics of the layers of encryption and privacy policies, however knowing their healthcare team takes the responsibilities of strong data security seriously, lessens worry for patients regarding the sensitivity of the information.

Communication During Breaches

The reality is, secure systems are not risk-free. Patients understand this. What makes the difference, is how the healthcare team communicates when an incident occurs. The communication effectiveness of cloud-based EMRs supports timely alerts, informs patients, and implements response plans, reducing the uncertainty.

Healthcare teams, instead of assuming patients will figure out what not to do or keeping them uninformed, communicate purposely about the incident with knowledge of how the incident impacts their care by:

• Explaining what data might have been accessed.
• Sharing the steps that are being taken to ensure the systems are secure and prevent any further errors or issues.

When a provider is clearly upfront, promptly, and honors the dignity of a patient for their feelings and care, patients know they are respected. Clear communication, even during stressful events, prevents long term damage to trust, and patients know their concerns are being taken into account.

Stories of Improved Confidence

Cloud EMRs are already helping many practices restore patient confidence; whether it is a passive agenda against paper and old software or a forward agenda of the clinic educating patients by sharing timely test results updates, secure messaging, and allowing patients look up or have easier access to their patient history. These seemingly small changes, bring a developed sense of control and transparency.

Very often patients report feeling included in their care when they can use portals to see lab tests and communicate directly with providers. Providers often recognize that their patients are more engaged and informed, and patients are simply responding to the cold, hard facts of the technology.

These stories are an illustration of how mutual technology and human empathy together, become a salient in re-engaging relationships in both patients and providers.

Conclusion

In healthcare, when cloud EMRs bring transparency, visible security, and credible communication to your organization, they become more than just a mechanism to store all your patients’ information; rather they become the means by which we connect to our patients in ways that build a patient-provider relationship of trust, clarity, and care.