I am at the WHCC Europe 2009 in Brussels, my first trip since I was really hit by the consequences of my chemotherapy. And it is not easy. Even more, because there is no internet in the rooms, due to a technical problem. And for a handicapped man it would have been much easier to stay at close range to be able to work.
Before getting to the sunject indicated in the title of this entry I would like to compliment Gilles Frydman on his article “PLEASE, No More Magical Thinking in HIT!“, from 12 May. It is really exactly to the point and covers the same topic I will be talking about tomorrow, the role of the patient. Frydman’s question is, who ever asked the patient about his experiences with HIT, my approach is the opposite, but to the same effect, who ever told the patient what is going to come towards him. I will publish my presentation tomorrow.
But now the reason for this blog entry. A TV broadcast last night, 12 May, revealed the attitude of the Dutch doctors towards EHRs:
- 31% of medical doctors have officially opted-out of the national EHR, as a private person;
- 25% is considering to top-out;
- 7% would have done so if the opt-out procedure would have been simpler
For an overview of the statistics, see here (English translation). The main reasons are lack of security, problems with privacy and confidentiality. During the broadcast one of the interviewees even remarked that it is estimated that the way the law is interpreted at the moment, 1 in 5 citizens will be able to enter the system and have access to any record.
The article also reveals that almost half a million persons have signed in an opt-out request.
The Dutch are really amazing!
Lodewijk Bos
