In 2010, we invited patients of more than 100 primary care doctors from three diverse medical institutions to read their doctors’ notes online. Our overall goal is to help patients become more actively involved in their care and to draw patients and their healthcare team closer together. To do that, we need to foster meaningful,…
Jan Walker
Health Expectations: The urban underserved: attitudes towards gaining full access to electronic medical records.
As the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) spreads, health-care organizations are increasingly offering patients online access to their medical records. Studies evaluating patient attitudes towards viewing elements of their records through secure, electronic patient portals have generally not included medically underserved patients or those with HIV/AIDS. The goal of this study was to gain…
Benefits from Destroying the Black Box (or Are We Opening Pandora’s Box?)
These days, commentary about bankers, politicians, or school systems is almost invariably accompanied by a call for “increased transparency.” And it’s not different for us in medicine. Spurred by electronic technologies, black boxes are being torn open right and left, bringing disruptive changes to both doctors and patients. We applaud these changes and argue that attendant benefits will far outweigh risks. And whether you agree or not, it’s probably futile to try to interfere with an unstoppable progression.
TIME Healthland: Can Patients Handle the Truth? Getting Access to Doctors’ Notes
by Alice Park The last time you were at the doctor’s office, and your physician scribbled or typed something into your chart, did you wonder what it said? If so, you’re in the majority: according to a new survey, more than 90% of patients said they would want to know. Not surprisingly, most doctors were…
Inviting Patients to Read Their Doctors’ Notes: Patients and Doctors Look Ahead: Patient and Physician Surveys
Background:
Little is known about what primary care physicians (PCPs) and patients would expect if patients were invited to read their doctors’ office notes.
Objective:
To explore attitudes toward potential benefits or harms if PCPs offered patients ready access to visit notes.
Design:
The PCPs and patients completed surveys before joining a voluntary program that provided electronic links to doctors’ notes.
Modern Healthcare: Patients should have easier access to their doctors’ medical notes
by Tom Delbanco and Jan Walker HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has taken an important step in launching the first national effort to give consumers electronic access to their laboratory results. We certainly agree with the secretary that “When it comes to health, information is power.” But at a time when all Americans are increasingly relying…
WGBH: When Patients Read What Their Doctors Write
The woman was sitting on a gurney in the emergency room, and I was facing her, typing. I had just written about her abdominal pain when she posed a question I’d never been asked before: “May I take a look at what you’re writing?” At the time, I was a fourth-year medical resident in Boston.…
