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Cell phone technology is in the hands of millions of Americans, and early research indicates that this technology can be useful to help Americans who are suffering from some form of mental illness. Like with the design of any technology from a human-centered perspective, we aim to determine how to best utilize technology so that it is both easy to use and works for its intended purpose. To accomplish this, we surveyed 325 patients currently receiving treatment at community-based outpatient clinics for mental illness to determine their cell phone ownership and usage patterns. Our results showed that cell phone ownership among these mental health patients was comparable with ownership among a nationally representative sample, with the exception that more patients than non-patients shared their mobile phones. Among mental health patients, we found that texting was the most popular feature used and downloading apps was the least popular. Based on these results, we concluded that texting may be a feasible form of treatment aid for those with mental illness and may be useful as a supplementary treatment for those with low income or little to no access to treatment. Further research should investigate privacy measures for using mobile technology as a treatment aid, especially for those who share a phone, and explore the types of mHealth treatment aids that could be the most effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information collection, storage, and management is central to the practice of health care. For centuries, patients' and providers' expectations kept medical records confidential between providers and patients. With the advent of electronic health records, patient health information has become more widely available to providers and health care managers and has broadened its potential use beyond individual patient care. Adhering to the principles of Fair Information Practice, including giving patients control over the availability and use of their individual health records, would improve care by fostering the sharing of sensitive information between patients and providers. However, adherence to such principles could put patients at risk for unsafe care as a result of both missed opportunities for providing needed care as well as provision of contraindicated care, as it would prevent health care providers from having full access to health information. Patients' expectations for the highest possible quality and safety of care, therefore, may be at odds with their desire to limit provider access to their health records. Conversely, provider expectations that patients would willingly seek care for embarrassing conditions and disclose sensitive information may be at odds with patients' information privacy rights. An open dialogue between patients and providers will be necessary to balance respect for patient rights with provider need for patient information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Previous studies have measured individuals' willingness to share personal information stored in electronic health records (EHRs) with health care providers, but none has measured preferences among patients when they are allowed to determine the parameters of provider access. Methods: Patients were given the ability to control access by doctors, nurses, and other staff in a primary care clinic to personal information stored in an EHR. Patients could restrict access to all personal data or to specific types of sensitive information, and could restrict access for a specific time period. Patients also completed a survey regarding their understanding of and opinions regarding the process. Results: Of 139 eligible patients who were approached, 105 (75.5 %) were enrolled, and preferences were collected from all 105 (100 %). Sixty patients (57 %) did not restrict access for any providers. Of the 45 patients (43 %) who chose to limit the access of at least one provider, 36 restricted access only to all personal information in the EHR, while nine restricted access of some providers to a subset of the their personal information. Thirty-four (32.3 %) patients blocked access to all personal information by all doctors, nurses, and/or other staff, 26 (24.8 %) blocked access by all doctors and/or nurses, and five (4.8 %) denied access to all doctors, nurses, and staff. Conclusions: A significant minority of patients chose to restrict access by their primary care providers to personal information contained in an EHR, and few chose to restrict access to specific types of information. More research is needed to identify patient goals and understanding of the implications when facing decisions of this sort, and to identify the impact of patient education regarding information contained in EHRs and their use in the clinical care setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]