Understanding Patients' Experiences of Digital Ethics in a Digitalised Healthcare System.
Aysun Bayram, Betül Bal, Alvisa Palese
PMID 42698198WHAT IT FOUND
Thirteen outpatients described using e-Nabız and MHRS as convenient but unsettling: they could see their records but did not know who else accessed them, which eroded trust and caused distress.
They asked for clearer consent and access controls.
Key findings
01Patients found digital health systems practical for appointments and test results, but reported technical problems, complex medical language, and low digital literacy as barriers.
02Patients perceived unauthorized data sharing and lacked control mechanisms such as editing or restricting access.
03Patients wanted transparent access records, accountable complaint processes, data control, understandable consent, and digital literacy support rather than rejection of digital systems.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Single centre, purposive sample of 13 outpatients, so themes are not broadly representative. Participants were mostly highly educated and experienced digital health users, so lower literacy and less experienced patients may have different concerns. Outpatients were stable and not acutely ill, so findings may not apply to hospitalised or crisis patients. Qualitative interviews cannot show whether digital systems are unsafe or whether nurse actions improve trust. Interview data may include social desirability bias and omissions. Findings are from Türkiye and national systems e-Nabız and MHRS, so transfer to other health systems is uncertain.
Declared interests
The authors reported no funding and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that digital health systems are unsafe or that nurses can fix trust. It reports the experiences of 13 highly educated outpatients in Türkiye and does not test any intervention.