Support for open notes has been bolstered by evidence from a limited pool of early adopters showing that sharing mental health notes could improve indicators of patient-centered care, including patient-rated empowerment, mental health literacy, and therapeutic alliance.
Peer Reviewed
The “Our Words Matter” campaign to reduce stigma and bias in clinical communication: A case report
This case report describes the process of assembling a multidisciplinary team to create an educational campaign with the goal of reducing stigma and bias in the medical record. Campaigns like this one can serve as models for medical and public health professionals who seek to advance health equity.
21st Century Cures Act ONC Rule: Implications for adolescent care and confidentiality protections
This article reviews the key aspects of confidentiality protections in adolescent health care, explains the ONC Rule, outlines clinical, HIT, and equity challenges associated with its implementation, encourages the development of policies protecting the confidentiality of adolescents’ EHI [ … ] and offers tools for analyzing key questions in individual cases and practical steps to address the confidentiality of EHI with patients and parents.
People with diabetes who read their clinicians’ visit notes: Behaviors and attitudes
People with diabetes want to read their clinicians’ notes, are accessing them at high rates, and report understanding the notes and benefiting from reading them. Clinicians can encourage further engagement by enhancing the readability of notes and discussing the availability of notes with patients.
Experiences with information blocking in the United States: A national survey of hospitals
We sought to describe hospital leaders’ perceptions of the prevalence of practices that may constitute information blocking, by actor and hospital characteristics, following the rule’s applicability date. These results […] support the need for continued observation to provide a sense of the prevalence of information blocking practices and for education and awareness of information blocking regulations.
Perspectives of patients about immediate access to test results through an online patient portal
In this multisite survey study of patient attitudes and preferences toward receiving immediately released test results via a patient portal, most respondents preferred to receive test results via the patient portal despite viewing results prior to discussion with a health care professional.
Patient online record access in English primary care: Qualitative survey study of general practitioners’ views
This study provides timely information on the views of GPs in England regarding patient access to their web-based health records. Overwhelmingly, GPs were skeptical about the benefits of access both for patients and to their practices.
Understanding the Cures Act Information Blocking Rule in cancer care: A mixed methods exploration of patient and clinician perspectives and recommendations for policy makers
Patients with cancer and their cancer care teams want the ability to tailor information release based on individual preferences and goals. Understanding how to tailor implementation of the Information Blocking Rule is essential for retaining its benefits and minimizing unintended harm for patients with cancer.
Patient perspectives on clinic note transparency within dermatology
Research evaluating patient experiences with accessing their dermatology clinic notes is currently limited. In this survey study, we aimed to assess dermatology patient experiences with viewing online medical records and sought to identify areas for improvement.
Patient identification of diagnostic safety blindspots and participation in “good catches” through shared visit notes
A new study from OpenNotes shows patients and families who read open notes hold unique insights and can catch potential safety hazards that are difficult for clinicians or organizations to see.