This paper connects findings from the field of placebo studies with research into patients’ interactions with their clinician’s visit notes, housed in their electronic health records, and proposes specific hypotheses about how features of clinicians’ written notes might trigger mechanisms of placebo and nocebo effects to elicit positive or adverse health effects among patients. Bridging placebo studies with (a) survey data assaying patient and clinician experiences with portals and (b) randomized controlled trials provides preliminary support for our hypotheses. The paper concludes with actionable proposals for testing the understanding of the health effects of access to visit notes.
Salmi, Liz
Harnessing the Consumer Movement
In this issue, an American College of Physicians (ACP) position paper on Principles for Patient and Family Partnership in Care moves beyond longstanding rhetoric urging clinicians to become more “patient-centered” and calls for an aggressive turn toward true partnership (1). The ACP recommends that patients and families work closely with clinicians to improve medical education and health care systems. The paper cites ample evidence that such partnerships benefit patients and clinicians alike and argues that attention to dignity and respect may improve health outcomes, adherence to care plans, efficiency, and patient and clinician satisfaction.
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