48 new health systems launched “open notes” in 2020, marking a 10% increase in patient access nationwide
As 2020 draws to a close, OpenNotes reports that well over 50 million patients registered on secure online patient portals can now access the notes written by their clinicians. Based on data volunteered by 266 health systems across the U.S. and Canada, patient access to notes increased by nearly 10%, compared to 2019. Health systems are able to self-report their “open notes” status through the OpenNotes Health System Survey tool, launched in 2016 with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Open notes growth 2019 & 2020
| Jan-Dec 2019 | Jan-Dec 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| # Organizations sharing notes | 218 | 266 |
| # Patients w/access to notes via Portal | 43.8 million | 54.2 million |
Some organizations that began sharing open visit notes (“open notes”) in 2020 were likely prompted by the 21st Century Cures Act program rule on Interoperability, Information Blocking, and ONC Health IT Certification, which requires that healthcare providers offer patients ready electronic access to all the health information in their electronic medical records. The original implementation date for the rule was Nov. 2, 2020. It was changed to April 5, 2021, with the federal government citing COVID-19 as a reason for the delay.
“We saw a big uptick in self-reporting on the OpenNotes survey throughout November and December this year,” notes Deb Wachenheim, MPP, assistant director of dissemination for OpenNotes. “During this time, six organizations already sharing notes updated their survey data, and 18 new organizations went live.”
By completing the online survey, organizations sharing notes with patients before the federal mandate takes effect will be added to the widely-cited OpenNotes Map.
The 18 organizations newly added to the OpenNotes map in December include:
- Bassett Healthcare Network (New York)
- BayCare (Florida)
- Bryan Health (Nebraska)
- Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat Associates (North Carolina and South Carolina)
- Concord Hospital (New Hampshire)
- Geisinger Holy Spirit (Pennsylvania)
- Heart of Texas Community Health Center (Texas)
- Memorial Healthcare (Michigan)
- Parkland Health and Hospital System (Texas)
- Parkview Health (Indiana and Ohio)
- Piedmont Healthcare (Georgia)
- Sansum Clinic (California)
- Seattle Children’s Hospital (Washington)
- Skyline Health (Washington)
- St. Luke’s University Health Network (Pennsylvania and New Jersey)
- The Guthrie Clinic (Pennsylvania and New York)
- UC Davis Health (California)
- University of Virginia Health (Virginia)
