Attitudes of First-year Medical Students Toward the Confidentiality of Computerized Patient Records

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the attitudes of students entering medical school toward the confidentiality of computerized medical records. DESIGN: First-year medical students at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine responded to a series of questions about a hypothetic breach of patient's privacy through a computerized patient record system. MEASUREMENTS: The individual authors independently grouped the blinded responses according to whether they were consistent with then-current institutional policy. These preliminary groupings were discussed, and final categorizations were made by consensus. RESULTS: While most students had a sense of what was right and wrong in absolute terms, half the class suggested at least one course of action that was deemed to be inconsistent with institutional policies. CONCLUSIONS: The authors believe that medical schools should directly address ethical and legal issues related to the use of computers in clinical practice as an integral part of medical school curricula. Several teaching approaches can facilitate a greater awareness of the issues surrounding technology and medicine.