Virtually all patients have the legal right to read a doctor’s notes after an appointment, yet few do so. Advocates argue that if patients reviewed such notes, they would be better informed and more involved in their health care. But some doctors worry that the practice would disrupt their workflow and potentially scare patients. Now,…
Boston Globe
Boston Globe: Doctors’ notes on mental health shared with patients
Policy shift at Beth Israel Deaconess At the end of every workday, psychiatrists, social workers, and other mental health providers write notes describing their patients’ visits. It is where they chronicle paranoid behavior, excessive drinking, or relationship problems. These candid comments often are available to other doctors, but they are rarely shared with patients themselves.…
Boston Globe: Doctors, Patients, and Computer Screens
“A woman in her 60s comes in for her annual physical. She feels fine. Still, there are things she’s eager to discuss with me. She’s terrified she’ll again come down with the illness that put her in the hospital a couple of years ago. Her kids are an ongoing source of stress. I turn my…
The Boston Globe: Patients benefit from reading doctors’ notes, study shows
by Liz Kowalczyk, Should patients be able to read the notes doctors write about them? Physicians have disagreed about this issue for years. But in a new study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, patients reported that opening up notes increased their understanding of their medical problems and improved their compliance with medication regimens. Despite…
