Ever wondered what’s in your medical record? If you have access to OpenNotes, you won’t have to wonder anymore One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes is the one where Elaine sneaked a peek at her medical record after the nurse left the exam room. Reading it, she discovered that her doctor described her as a difficult patient (because she didn’t…
Patient Empowerment
The Boston Globe: It’s best to get a doctor’s note
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,…
Journal of Oncology Practice: Open Visit Notes: A Patient’s Perspective and Expanding National Experience
HEALTH CARE DELIVERY Perspectives by Dave deBronkart and Jan Walker, RN, MBA Society for Participatory Medicine, Nashua, NH; and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA We congratulate Martin [1] on his thoughtful description of how he has opened clinical notes to his patients. We write in response from two perspectives. One…
USA Today: Doctors’ note-sharing helps patients fight health issues
During a recent physical, Jeff Gordon’s doctor told him he may be pre-diabetic. It was a quick mention, mixed in with a review of blood pressure numbers, other vital statistics like his heart rate, height and weight, and details about his prescription for cholesterol medication. Normally, Gordon, 70, a food broker who lives in Washington,…
HealthLeaders Media: How OpenNotes Builds Patient Engagement
Patients are encouraged to become engaged in their healthcare, but they can’t do it unless providers give them the tools and information they need to actively participate. Everyone agrees that patient engagement is important. No one agrees on what, exactly, the term means. A 2012 study published in the Journal of Participatory Medicine,”The Many Faces…
KUOW News – 94.9FM: When Doctors Invite Patients To Read Their Notes
Do you wonder what your doctor scribbles in the chart during your visit? Patients at Harborview Medical Center got to read their medical records, including their doctors’ detailed notes. For some, that access prompted them to become more involved in their health care. Linda Johnson, 67, had been relatively healthy all her adult life. She…
The New York Times: The Healing Power of Your Own Medical Data
Steven Keating’s doctors and medical experts view him as a citizen of the future. A scan of his brain eight years ago revealed a slight abnormality — nothing to worry about, he was told, but worth monitoring. And monitor he did, reading and studying about brain structure, function and wayward cells, and obtaining a follow-up…
The Post and Courier: Be an informed patient, and get healthier
If you’ve ever wondered what your doc is scribbling in your file or entering into a computer during your medical appointment, you’re not alone. More than 90 percent of us want to see our doctors’ notes. In fact, millions of American health-care consumers now do. Seems there’s been a little revolution brewing. The big news?…
MedCity News: For patients, knowledge is power
What patients think, or even know, what they’re entitled to know about their own medical record and what physicians and health systems think a patient should have access to continues to vex both sides of the equation, but the scale is tilting more toward a patient-focused mentality, even among regulators. Joy Pritts, the former chief…
Medscape: Docs Willing to Share Medical Practice With Patients? Sort Of
The use of technology in medicine, and patients’ desire to be more involved in their own healthcare, is changing the way that medicine is practiced. The WebMD/Medscape Digital Technology Survey was conducted in August and early September to gauge the thoughts of clinicians and patients on the new technology and gadgets used in medical practice,…
