Originally published in Law360, New York on August 27, 2012.

A federal push to give patients online access to their own medical records and their doctors will bring the health care industry a step closer to more coordinated, patient-centered care, experts say — but only if providers can overcome a litany of privacy, security and technology obstacles first.

The government issued a final rule Tuesday that laid out goals for a second stage in its initiative to promote electronic record-keeping in the health field. The plan included several so-called patient engagement objectives, which set benchmarks for patient-provider interactions.

Please see full alert below for more information.