An e-patient consent system will soon become reality if the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has its way. According to a listing on the Federal Business Opportunities website, ONC is currently seeking a vendor to conduct market research that will identify patient concerns as they design an e-consent pilot that will foster patient trust. To achieve this, the vendor is asked to partner with medical facilities that are exchanging health information electronically, develop a way to obtain patient participation, identify key pieces of information relating to the exchange of health information and patient choice, and evaluate consumer understanding regarding patient consent to share their health information. The development of an electronic patient consent system is a step that ONC believes will inspire patient trust as their medical records increasingly becomes computerized and electronically exchanged among healthcare professionals.
