We’ve reached the digital engagement era. Patients want to read their health records online, but how easy is it to get the complete picture of their health? For many patients, it still feels like a digital maze. Multiple portals. Different logins. Incomplete histories. Downloadable PDFs that can’t be easily downloaded or shared. And records that don’t follow them when they travel, relocate, or see a new specialist.
The question isn’t whether patients want access or even if it exists in 2026. The question is whether it actually works.
The Policy Wins (Were They Wins for Patients?)
Over the past few years, regulation has pushed the industry forward:
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The 21st Century Cures Act required that patients have digital access to their full electronic health information.
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The Information Blocking Rule enforced by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) prohibits providers and vendors from withholding data.
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The launch of Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) created a national framework to improve health information exchange.
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Ongoing oversight from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to tie interoperability and transparency to reimbursement and compliance.
These represent one of the largest structural shifts in healthcare data access in decades. Patients legally have the right to see their notes, labs, imaging, and clinical documentation. Unfortunately, progress in policy doesn’t equal progress in patient experience. Patients have the policy win, but if they can’t log into the 10+ patient portals and combine results, how do they get a complete picture of their health?
Offered Access vs Usable Access
More than three-quarters of U.S. adults have been offered online access to their health records. Yet usability remains inconsistent: 8 in 10 Americans are offered digital access to their records. But fewer than 6 in 10 log in. Even worse, fewer than 3 in 10 actively download or share their information. Access has expanded. Utilization remains uneven. Ownership is still elusive. There is a regulatory framework, the 21st Century Cares Act, that opened the digital door. However, patients are still waiting in the hallway, navigating:
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Multiple portals
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Fragmented systems
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Incomplete histories
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Login fatigue
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And records that don’t follow them across care settings, locations, or even Emergency Room visits
Digital visibility is not the same as continuity of care. And continuity of care is what actually improves health outcomes. Patients managing chronic illness, complex medication regimens, or multi-specialty care feel this gap the most. They’re told, “It’s in the portal,” but the portal may only reflect one small piece of their healthcare record. Interoperability frameworks like TEFCA aim to solve this, but care coordination requires more than complicance. It requires usability.
The Real Measure of Success in 2026
We shouldn’t be asking whether patients have legal access. We should be asking whether they can easily log into their medical records, share their information, access their full medical history and share it instantly with any provider they choose. Does it eliminate unecessary repeat visits, tests and procedures? Are the latest medication and allergy changes available to the Emergency staff at the hospital? Does it reduce clinician guesswork and cognitive load? Because if the answer is no, the system is still a maze.
Healthcare doesn’t need another portal. It doesnt need another set of regulatory frameworks that talk about access. It needs ease of use. MedKaz® gives patients true control over their complete medical history. They carry it on their keyring and share it with any provider at every visit, wherever care happens. Patients deserve more than access. They deserve:
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The confidence that their history is accurate.
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The ability to share it instantly.
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The security of knowing it isn’t trapped inside a system.
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The assurance that no matter where they receive care, their story goes with them.
That’s empowerment. Not theoretical empowerment. Practical empowerment. That’s the MedKaz difference.
