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…
Tom Delbanco
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.…
Open Notes: Doctors and Patients Signing On
Few patients read their doctors’ notes, despite having the legal right to do so. As information technology makes medical records more accessible and society calls for greater transparency, patients’ interest in reading their doctors’ notes may increase. Inviting patients to review these notes could improve understanding of their health, foster productive communication, stimulate shared decision making, and ultimately lead to better outcomes. Yet, easy access to doctors’ notes could have negative consequences, such as confusing or worrying patients and complicating rather than improving patient–doctor communication. To gain evidence about the feasibility, benefits, and harms of providing patients ready access to electronic doctors’ notes, a team of physicians and nurses have embarked on a demonstration and evaluation of a project called OpenNotes. The authors describe the intervention and share what they learned from conversations with doctors and patients during the planning stages. The team anticipates that “open notes” will spread and suggests that over time, if drafted collaboratively and signed by both doctors and patients, they might evolve to become contracts for care.
