Abstract
This comic prompts viewers and readers to consider conditions under which sharing raw clinical data with patients promotes better care. Electronic health records’ conveyance of what many patients can experience as an overwhelming amount of information suggests the need for follow-up about which information has clinical and ethical value to patients and why.
Figure. Raw Data
There are drawbacks to how electronic health record (EHR) systems present raw clinical data, such as lab values, reports from specialist consultants, unfamiliar clinical language, and obscure clinical acronyms. Information abundance does not necessarily confer knowledge about the patient’s health. Clinicians must consider how EHR information mediates information exchanges during online or clinical encounters.
