Criticism of the government’s plan to collect data from patients’ medical records to build a new NHS database—care.data—has been fast and furious. With data collection postponed amid public concern about its confidentiality the government is now fielding advice on how to get its “busted” scheme right next time round. While the research potential of analysing “big data” has…
patient engagement
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…
US News & World Report: OpenNotes Helps Keep Patients Informed and Engaged
In a classic “Seinfeld” moment from 1996, the character Elaine is waiting in the doctor’s office and peeks inside her medical chart, only to find that someone had written that she was “difficult.” The doctor walks in, grabs the file and tells Elaine, “You shouldn’t be reading that.” She questions him about that notation and…
Today’s Hospitalist: Is it time to open up your notes?
Patients have the right under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to access their entire medical chart, including clinicians’ progress notes. But most hospitals and practices view that requirement as a burden and have set up time, cost and logistical barriers to prevent patients from seeing and obtaining copies of their own…
Huffington Post: Medical Notes for All to See
Cleveland Clinic patients can now see the notes written about them after an office visit. Later this year, they will also be able to view selected hospital notes. This comes on top of the laboratory results, radiology and pathology reports, and problem and medication lists they can already access via a secure online medical record…
NEJM: The Road toward Fully Transparent Medical Records
“Forty years ago, Shenkin and Warner argued that giving patients their medical records ‘would lead to more appropriate utilization of physicians and a greater ability of patients to participate in their own care.’ At that time, patients in most states could obtain their records only through litigation, but the rules gradually changed, and in…
Consumer Reports: The doctor will e-mail you now
Though they may be late to the party, this year you can expect your doctors to join your bank, your credit-card company, your insurance company, and probably even your supermarket and hairdresser in connecting with you online. In fact, you may find your doctor actively encouraging you to send her an e-mail. Why? Starting this…
JAMA Viewpoint: Consumers Gaining Ground in Health Care
James A. Guest and Lynn Quincy from Consumer Reports discuss public and private health initiatives that are giving consumers more information and more fair opportunities when it comes to obtaining health insurance and health care: “This year has also seen a leap forward in concepts like OpenNotes, a transparency movement that invites and enables patients to review…
The American Nurse: OpenNotes initiative aims to improve patient-clinician communication, care
“Opening visit notes really breaks down the barrier in which patients see doctors and other clinicians as having all the answers…I’d really like nurses to think about patients having access to their visit notes…” – Jan Walker Read more about what nurses from the VA and BIDMC are saying about the OpenNotes movement in the American…
Columbia St Mary’s Now Sharing Visit Notes with Patients
MILWAUKEE, WI – When a patient is sick, tired or stressed during a doctor’s visit, they may forget what the doctor said or prescribed. Columbia St. Mary’s is addressing this issue by strengthening the patient-doctor partnership and giving their more than 300,000 patients secure online access to doctor’s notes after a visit. Called “OpenNotes,” the…
