When privilege trumps privacy

Singapore’s chronic health patients may highly value their privacy, but many can live with the idea of strangers seeing their medical records if it means they can view their charts over the Internet.

Slightly more than half, or 51 percent, of Singapore’s consumers with chronic health conditions believe that accessing their medical records online outweighs the privacy risks, according to a new Accenture survey.

It was also found that more than three-quarters or 76 percent, believe patients should have the right to access their healthcare information. But despite their eagerness to access their medical records online, roughly 69 percent said the top barrier to accessing their records was not knowing how to do so.

Clients take proactive role

These research findings suggest the emergence of a new generation that is taking a more proactive role in managing health.

Health providers must adapt  by providing transparency and tools so patients have larger control of their online medical data, says Corissa Leung, who leads Accenture’s health business in ASEAN.

“As consumers continue to demand more access to their personal data online, we expect that patients will gain more power to manage some aspects of their own care. This will not only make healthcare more effective but also more sustainable, as consumers doing more for themselveswill free up the system to be more productive.”