OurNotes interests patients, and providers experience it as a positive intervention. Participation by patients, care partners, clinicians, and electronic health record experts will facilitate further development.
Primary Care
Perceptions of Primary Care Notes by Patients With Mental Health Diagnoses
There are concerns regarding whether patients with mental illness should be provided with access to their electronic medical records. This study compared perceptions of patients with (n = 400) and without (n = 2,134) a mental health diagnosis regarding access to primary care clinic notes through secure online portals. Eligible participants viewed at least 1 clinic note during a 12-month period. Administrative data were used to stratify patients by mental health diagnosis. As we hypothesized, patients with and without mental health diagnoses had similar perceptions about online access to notes.
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…
Do Patients Who Access Clinical Information on Patient Internet Portals Have More Primary Care Visits?
As health care costs alarm the nation and the debate increases about the impact of health information technologies, patients are reviewing their medical records increasingly through secure Internet portals. Important questions remain about the impact of portal use on office visits.
Characteristics of Patients Who Report Confusion After Reading Their Primary Care Clinic Notes Online
Patient access to online electronic medical records (EMRs) is increasing and may offer benefits to patients. However, the inherent complexity of medicine may cause confusion. We elucidate characteristics and health behaviors of patients who report confusion after reading their doctors’ notes online. We analyzed data from 4,528 patients in Boston, MA, central Pennsylvania, and Seattle, WA, who were granted online access to their primary care doctors’ clinic notes and who viewed at least one note during the 1-year intervention. Three percent of patients reported confusion after reading their visit notes.
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