OurNotes for Patients: Creating Notes With Clinicians

1. Shortly before a scheduled visit, the OurNotes form is sent to you in your provider’s secure, electronic patient portal.
2. The form you fill out suggests you review your prior open notes and then asks you to a) describe briefly how things have been going, along with changes since your last visit, and b) to list 2 or 3 important questions you want to discuss during the visit.
   For example, you can write about changes in symptoms or the way you are taking medications, or visits you had to specialists, emergency rooms, or urgent care units. You may have questions about whether you need a blood test or a referral.
3. If you can, bring a copy of your OurNotes form to your visit – to remind yourself (and, if necessary, your provider).

The information you send goes to your healthcare provider and will become a part of your secure electronic medical record. Your providers may use some or all of it in the visit notes that they prepare.

• Triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine visits, whether by phone or video, have become much more common.
• The OurNotes information you send in can help both you and your providers get the most out of these visits. You may also be able to do some of the pre-work that health assistants generally do for office visits. Even though you’re physically apart, you and your providers can be prepared!
• Some information would usually be obtained in the office, and the OurNotes telemedicine form includes a section on temperature, weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar (if important for you). If it’s possible, make these measurements at home. They may be particularly helpful for an illness such as diabetes.
• Early reports: Those already using OurNotes are reporting that this new practice is indeed very helpful for telemedicine visits.

It’s early in the life of OurNotes, and only a few healthcare providers are participating. But the numbers are expanding rapidly, and you may want to suggest that your health team look into it.

Before your visit, you can fill out the OurNotes form to help prepare. And if you are not registered for a patient portal, ask your healthcare provider how to get on and get connected with your health information! The combination of reviewing your past open notes and filling out the OurNotes form before a visit can make a real difference in your care!

How have you been since your last visit?

BP has been pretty good: Feb 24 118 / 78, Mar 7 108/78, Mar 18 114/78. I was not feeling well all of Jan and Feb, cough/very low energy. Eventually got worse with fever, chills and came in - tested positive for flu. Chest X-ray was OK. Got Tamiflu. Feel much better now. BTW: I had been coughing for about 6 months, maybe more. Originally thought it was connected to meds, but I don't cough at all now.

What are the most important things you would like to discuss at your visit?

• Is it possible to still get a flu shot?
• Should I get my potassium level checked?
• Renew prescriptions

Doctor’s response:

“Day 1 of Telemedicine! Overwhelmed with trying to fit all the contents of a usual office visit into the time allotted, I was thrilled to see that one of my patients had completed her OurNotes entry! Because of this, I was able to ‘walk into’ the visit with confidence in what lay ahead. I knew what her concerns were and what the focus should be. We had plenty of time to get to her ‘list’ and also to my list of routine health care maintenance issues…and to chat about the COVID crisis and how we were each coping. What a difference from the other visits into which I ‘walked’ unprepared!”