Yes, Virginia, there are system benefits to be gained from providing patients access to their own health information.

The world has evolved into "The Informed Society" where consumers from all types of businesses and industries play larger roles in both the purchase and the development of products and services. But in health care, such " grass roots" contributions have been slower to come to the fore. The first step in the evolution is access to their own health information--providing patients access to their own health information within electronic health records. As this information becomes available, additional education programs will have to be developed to safely activate and empower patients as partners in their care.