OpenNotes Program Gives Patients Access to Doctors’ Notes

October 7th, 2009

Few patients read their physician’s notes following an appointment although they have the legal right to do so. Most trust the physician to clearly spell out the ailment, possible treatment options, causes and preventative measures. But with the world becoming more technology centric and Internet dependent, medical experts are beginning to wonder what would happen if medical records, charts and doctors notes could be available to patients via the Web. Would patients find the information helpful or confusing? Would they take a more hands-on approach to their healthcare or get scared away? To find the answers to these questions, a research project called Open Notes was initiated and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This foundation is a private organization dedicated to the improvement and research of health and healthcare in America. This program is slated to last one year and involves 100 participating physicians from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. These doctors will provide roughly 25,000 patients with access to their notes following a recent visit.

Traditionally, doctors’ notes are a way of communicating between medical professionals. Today, experts and participating physicians hope that this open access to doctor’s notes will facilitate better communication between provider and patient and lead to joint decision making regarding treatment options. But because doctors have notoriously poor handwriting and use complex medical terminology and acronyms, some critics believe this abundance of complication information will only succeed in scaring patients unnecessarily. To determine whether this type of information will help or harm, the study will assess the physicians’ and patients’ expectations and evaluations of the project via pre and post visit surveys. Physicians will be quizzed about their feelings regarding note sharing, the content and quality of the notes, work flow and the relationship with the patient. Conversely, patients will be asked to answer questions regarding their attitude toward reading the notes, their perceived relationship with the physician and the quality of care received. The ultimate question asked by the researchers will be posed at the completion of the program when participants are asked whether they wish to continue visiting that particular doctor and receiving access to their notes. Should this program be successful, expect more medical facilities to adopt similar open notes policies and more patients demanding to see their medical charts.

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