Hi everyone! I’m Sally Okun, Vice President for Advocacy, Policy and Patient Safety at PatientsLikeMe. Most of you probably already know me, but just in case you don’t, I really focus on bringing the patient voice to affect better treatment, services and care, and to be sure that the needs of patients are at the front of healthcare discussions. I’m also the link between PatientsLikeMe and government and regulatory agencies.
And that’s what brings me to the blog today. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is working on a new research study and they want to hear directly from patients like you about your experiences with your electronic medical records. Specifically the team at GAO is interested to learn about your experience accessing your health information electronically for viewing it yourself, downloading it to a computer or other device and/or sending it to someone else of your choosing.
Find out more below about the GAO, this new research project and who to contact if you’d like to participate.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), an agency that evaluates federal programs for Congress, is conducting research to examine patients’ experiences with electronically viewing, downloading, or transmitting their health information, which will be incorporated into a publicly available report. GAO would like to hear directly from consumers to learn about any relevant experiences they may have had in this regard (e.g., viewing health information in an online patient portal, downloading health information into a personal health record app, sending/receiving health information to/from a physician).
If you would like to volunteer to discuss your experiences with GAO, whether positive or negative, please send an email with your first name directly to GAO at HealthInfoAccess@gao.gov by June 7, 2016. GAO will contact you to schedule a short, anonymous telephone interview at your convenience to discuss your experiences.
GAO will NOT collect any personal information during the interview, such as your full name or other identifying information. In addition, GAO will only ask questions about your experiences electronically accessing your health information, not any questions about the nature of your health information itself. Any information GAO collects from consumers will be published in a manner that protects your confidentiality and anonymity.
Let your voice be heard!
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