I’ve been following a very interesting online discussion about providing patients with access to their health data.  The initial spark for this debate came from a post on the RegisterPatient.com blog touting the benefits of patient access to their medical records.  Discussion, while generally supportive of the idea was mixed.  An even more intense conversation about the blog has emerged in the Health 2.0 group in LinkedIn.

A recent New England Journal of Medicine article points out some clinicians are uncomfortable with providing patient access to the record, because offering such information without the context provided by years of medical school can lead to significant confusion and anxiety.

At the other end of the spectrum are patient data advocates such as e-Patient Dave, standing in front of audiences and shouting “Give me my data!”

What do you think?  What have you seen organizations trying in this space?  What’s working and what’s not?