A Grounded Theory Approach to Investigate Patient Empowerment in E-Healthcare

Emerging technological innovations such as electronic health records (EHRs), regional health information organizations (RHIOs), and the nationwide health information network (NHIN) have enabled increased sharing of medical records in the healthcare community. Recent studies have shown that patients do not trust their healthcare providers to keep their medical records safe from unauthorized release and want more control over their medical records. Patients seem to have focused their attention on negative media stories of information disclosures, both inside and outside of the healthcare community. Therefore, the notion of patient/consumer empowerment has emerged within the healthcare community’s discussions regarding sharing of medical information and development of policy and technological innovations. In this research, facets of patient empowerment in e-Healthcare will be investigated through a Grounded theory approach to analyzing documents from both United Stated federal and state patient empowerment groups.