Introduction: Patient accessible electronic health records are records of all the patient's
health data, stored in a digital format, which the patient can freely access. Purpose: The
purpose of the diploma work is to investigate patients' attitude towards patient accessible
electronic health records, and to define the most common reasons for and against the use of
electronic health records. Methods: In the diploma work, we used a descriptive work method
with a review of the literature. When searching, we limited our search to articles published
in the last ten years (from 2012 to 2022), articles published in the English language, content
relevance and strength of evidence. We used the CINAHL and Medline databases and the
PubMed server, with the search string: (PAEHR OR patient accessible electronic health
record*) AND (experiences OR perceptions OR attitudes OR views OR feelings OR
perspectives OR opinions) AND NOT (nurs* OR healthcare professional OR health
personnel). We analyzed 7 studies from which we identified patients' reasons for and against
the use of patient accessible electronic health records. Results: Patients choose to access
their medical records due to improved communication with medical staff, a greater sense of
responsibility, easier access to information, a better understanding of their health condition,
a better understanding of the information given during the medical examination, greater
readiness for further examinations, convenience, feeling greater control over the state of their
health, greater involvement in the health process, the possibility of checking the consistency
of the spoken information with the written one, and a greater tendency to follow medical
instructions. Patients' access is hindered by lack of understanding of medical terms,
incomprehensibility of the information read, anxiety about the information read, fear of
confronting bad results and technical problems. Discussion and conclusion: Most patients
have a positive attitude towards accessing their medical records, but improvements are
needed, especially in the area of information comprehension. Adapted electronic health
records that are comprehensible to patients would contribute to greater and better use and
reduce patients' anxiety. With technological advances, it is also necessary to resolve
technical problems that arise during use.
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