Personal medical documents management—How patients perceive, keep and manage their medical documents: A qualitative study

Background Absence of medical documents damages the quality of treatment and service. Despite the computerized medical folder, its use is still limited, and not all countries have a national health communications systems. That is why the patients are asked to bring with them the documents they hold. However, some patients lose the documents and others are uncooperative due to forgetfulness, and a lack of knowledge. Objectives To examine how patients perceive, keep and manage medical documents. Design The research was conducted in the qualitative method. Settings A cardiology clinic, in a big medical center in Israel. Participants A total of 28 patients suffering from ischemic heart disease and/or rhythm disorders. The sample was a convenience one, and were taken from the population visiting the Cardiology Clinic from May to October 2003. Methods Semi-structured interviews were held with the participants. The data were processed by means of content analysis. Results The findings indicate that, even though the participants expressed that it is the health systemʹs responsibility to manage medical documents, most of them kept, and some even managed, their medical documents via a personal folder. By keeping documents and deciding to whom and when to show them the patient functions as a self-care manager. This made them more involved in their treatment and, they felt in control and empowered. Conclusion Patientʹs attention to documents, as keeper and router, results in demonstrations of responsibility and involvement in treatment, consequently empowering the patient