Canadians don't appear to fear electronic medical records
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* Shelley Martin

A recent survey by Pricewaterhouse- Coopers on Canadians' views about electronic medical records and smart cards found that a large majority (92%) would be at least “somewhat willing” to carry a smart card containing their personal health information for use in an emergency. The same proportion would be willing to use a card that carried personal information on specific diseases or conditions.

However, a smaller proportion (79%) would be willing to use a smart card — these contain a computerized chip that stores information — that would carry their entire medical history, including links to medical records at health facilities where they received treatment. Although differences across age groups were fairly small, Canadians aged 65 and older were consistently least likely to be willing to carry medical smart cards for any purpose.

Canadians appear receptive to the possibility of storing all personal electronic health records on a computer in a central location. Eighty-two percent of respondents supported the notion of storing personal health records centrally in order to give their doctors easier and quicker access to information; 85; would be willing to permit central storage of their individual health records so they could have access to and control over their own records. Canadians aged 15 to 24 were most willing to have their personal health records stored centrally, while those 65 and older were least willing.

![Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/164/12/1739.2/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.cmaj.ca/content/164/12/1739.2/F1)

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