Blease C, Fernandez L, Bell S, et al., Empowering patients and reducing inequities: is there potential in sharing clinical notes? BMJ Quality & Safety, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2019-010490
Patients who read their clinical notes via online patient portals (‘open notes’) report that doing so engages them actively in their care, improves their sense of control over their health and enhances safety.1–3 In several surveys, patients who are older, less educated, non-white or whose first language is not English report even greater benefits than do their counterparts.2–4 However, for many reasons, persons from these demographic groups are less likely to use health portals than other patient populations.5 Drawing on promising preliminary evidence,2–4 6 we suggest that open notes may, over time, prove important in the care of patients who are at risk of experiencing healthcare disparities.
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