Chronic disease management can require daily attention, and increased levels of patient activation and engagement. We examined whether patients with diabetes perceive a greater benefit to having electronic access to their doctors’ clinic notes compared to patients without diabetes. We hypothesized that easy electronic access to these notes may help patients with self-care by improving education and communication.
Elmore, Joann
Generalist physicians’ challenges in understanding specialists’ clinic notes
Millions of patients now have online access to their full electronic medical record, including the clinic notes from general and specialty physicians.1–4 At our institution, all clinic notes have been accessible to patients via a secure patient portal since October 2014,5 Subsequently, some patients are now asking their generalist physicians to answer questions about subspecialists’ clinic…
Opthamology patients’ interest in online access to clinic notes at three US clinics
Patients at three US eye clinics were strongly in favour of online access to ophthalmology notes and were optimistic this access would improve their understanding and self-care. Ophthalmologists should consider offering online access to their notes to enhance doctor-patient communication and improve clinical outcomes. Read the full publication here.
Patients Typing Their Own Visit Agendas Into an Electronic Medical Record: Pilot in a Safety-Net Clinic
Collaborative agenda setting is a communication skill that helps patients identify concerns early in the clinic visit, possibly diminishing the number of “Oh, by the way” items at the end of visits, and increasing patient satisfaction. Agenda setting, however, is often limited by time constraints.
Electronic medical records (EMRs) offer patients access to their medical data, including doctors’ notes, and have the capability to facilitate increased patient involvement in their health care and also contribute to their health data. OpenNotes is a national initiative, not a software program, that invites patients to review their visit notes written by their doctors, nurses, or other clinicians. Existing OpenNotes research shows enthusiasm among both patients and clinicians, but this is the first Open-Notes study of cogeneration of clinic notes.
Implications of direct patient online access to radiology reports through patient web portals
In an era of increasing health information transparency and informed decision making, more patients are being provided with direct online access to their medical records, including radiology reports, via web-based portals. Although radiologists’ narrative reports have previously been the purview of referring physicians, patients are now reading these on their own. Many potential benefits may result from patients reviewing their radiology reports, including improvements in patients’ own understanding of their health, promotion of shared decision making and patient-physician communication, and, ultimately, improvements in patient outcomes. However, there may also be negative consequences, including confusion and anxiety among patients and longer patient-physician interactions. The rapid adoption of this new technology has led to major questions regarding ethics and professionalism for radiologists, including the following: Who is the intended audience of radiology reports? How should content be presented or worded? How will open access influence radiologists’ relationships with patients and referring physicians? What legal ramifications may arise from increased patient access? The authors describe the current practices and research findings associated with patient online access to medical records, including radiology reports, and discuss several implications of this growing trend for the radiology profession.
Your Patient Is Now Reading Your Note: Opportunities, Problems, and Prospects
Patients have unprecedented online access to their medical records. More than 6 million Americans can now read their doctors’ notes via patient portals, and continued rapid growth is likely. Sharing notes with patients may yield important health benefits, including increased patient empowerment and improved medication adherence. Seeing written information, including notes, helps patients remember the plan of care, reinforces patients’ positive behaviors, and strengthens the patient–doctor alliance.
Patient access to online radiology reports: Frequency and sociodemographic characteristics associated with use
Rationale and objectives: Our objective was to evaluate the frequency with which patients viewed their online radiology reports in relation to clinical and laboratory notes and identify sociodemographic factors associated with report viewing.
Method and materials: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 129,419 patients who had online patient portal access in our large health system in 2014. We determined whether patients viewed their radiology reports, laboratory reports, and clinical notes. We also collected patient sociodemographic information including gender, age, primary spoken language, race/ethnicity, and insurance status. We performed multivariate analyses to determine significant associations between viewing of radiology reports and viewing of other types of clinical reports and patient characteristics.
Health Records All Access Pass
Many healthcare organizations are striving to improve patient engagement by facilitating patient access to clinical notes in the electronic health record (EHR) via patient portals. The University of Washington Health System (UW Medicine) in Seattle, WA, was an early participant in research on patient portals as one of the three OpenNotes study sites.
Since the time of this study, the OpenNotes initiative has now grown into a national movement to improve patient engagement by granting patients the ability to view clinical notes in the EHR. Based on UW Medicine’s positive experience during the pilot study, the organization opened patient access to all clinical notes via an electronic portal throughout its entire health system.
Patient portals and personal health information online: Perception, access, and use by US adults
Background: Access to online patient portals is key to improving care, but we have limited understanding of patient perceptions of online portals and the characteristics of people who use them.
Methods: Using a national survey of 3677 respondents, we describe perceptions and utilization of online personal health information (PHI) portals.
Transparent Electronic Health Records and Lagging Laws
Millions of patients are accessing their medical records online via secure electronic patient portals. They are also increasingly uploading data directly into their records, and many clinicians now offer patients ready and ongoing access to the notes that document encounters. In response, patients report improved understanding of their care, better recall, enhanced adherence to care plans, and an increased sense of control over their health.
Except where otherwise noted, the content by OpenNotes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
