Can Patients Access EMRs From Their Home Computer?

The answer is maybe, but I do not believe the physician is obligated to make the emr electronically available. I was reading an article in the Orlando Sentinel (don't ask why, considering I'm in New Jersey), and I came across an interesting question in the paper's "ask a lawyer section". It's pretty short, scroll to the bottom for the link:

Q. My doctor has an electronic medical-records system. Does the law allow me to access my medical records, and, if so, can I access them from my home computer?~T.E. ORLANDO

A. Generally, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law commonly referred to as HIPAA, governs your right to access your medical records. Under HIPAA, upon request, your doctor must let you inspect or give you a copy of your medical records. There are some limited exceptions to this general rule, such as when a request is made for psychotherapy records. Also, your doctor is not required to release records obtained from other doctors...However, your doctor is not required to provide you an electronic version of such records or let you access such records from your home computer.

For more information about your rights under HIPAA, go to hhs.gov/ocr/.

Now I'm not the attorney who answered the question. HOWEVER, it does stand to reason that the doctor does not have to give electronic access to the record due to security reasons. Why in the world would congress go through all the trouble of requiring security in the physician's office if a doctor was to freely make his patient's medical record available without assessing the security threat?

Source: Kristy Johnson, Can Medical Records Be Accessed on Computer?, Orlando Sentinel, The Law & You Section; Florida; Ask a lawyer, pg. B1 (July 27, 2009) (available here)