Czech patients accept electronic sharing of their health data

2009-12-23

Eighty-eight percent of Czech patients accept the idea of sharing their health details online to provide their doctors with information on their previous treatment and illnesses, according to a survey carried out between March and October 2009 on a group of 2,055 respondents by the Healthcare Institute and the Czech health records company IZIP.
According to the survey, over 50% of the participants do not remember the names of the drugs they take when asked during a doctor’s examination, 26% are unable to provide their doctors with all relevant information pertaining to their health: e.g., details of previous treatment, inoculations and allergies. Because of this, 90% of the respondents believe that online access to such data would speed up accurate diagnosis and treatment.
IZIP is the creator of Elektronicka zdravotní knizka, a secure electronic database. This holds details of patients’ health which are accessible online and shared between doctors and patients, and between healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of a given patient. The Healthcare Institute is a non-profit organisation which monitors the quality of healthcare services in the country.