by Stephanie D. Drobny, MS-HSL, RN, CPHQ
DENVER, CO – Nurses know that real-time charting is widely considered to be best practice. While the usefulness of the practice isn’t disputed, it can be a challenge to balance giving attention to charting with building a relationship of trust with our patients.
Connecting in a relationship of trust requires clear and transparent …
by Mere Abrams, MSW, ASW
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Each time I go to the doctor, I pause before opening the door to the waiting room and take five deep breaths. I have no idea how I will be addressed, read, or referred to, even if it’s not my first appointment. As a trans nonbinary person who uses gender-neutral pronouns and does not identify with the sex assigned to me at birth…
by Michael L. Millenson – CHICAGO, IL – Could OpenNotes help push predictive analytics from paternalism to partnership?
by Michael L. Millenson, President, Health Quality Advisors
CHICAGO, IL – Could OpenNotes help push predictive analytics from paternalism to partnership?
As new payment incentives make it profitable to prevent illness as well as treat it, new technology is offering the tantalizing prospect of accurately targeting pre-emptive interventions.
by Lori W., patient
BOSTON, MA – When asked if I was interested in writing a blog post for OpenNotes I immediately said yes. But it wasn’t long before panic set in. “What’s a blog?” I know it sounds silly to most people, especially when almost everyone is so used to social media, but I’m not. I want this to be as organic as possible, so I’ll just give my thoughts on OpenNotes and my experience with it.
by George Leydon, DO, family physician
MADISON, WI – When our medical director indicated that we’d be implementing OpenNotes this summer, my fleeting concern about patients seeing my typos was quickly superseded by possible downstream increase in workload—clarifications, phone calls about the documentation, etc. My fear was that it could contribute further to charting fatigue.
by CT Lin, MD
DENVER, CO – I am often asked, “What is the best way to participate in open notes and sharing physician progress notes with patients?”
To answer this question, I created this one-page PDF guide. Feel free to use and share it—and please include attribution when you share.
by John Torous, MD
BOSTON, MA – Digital psychiatry – using new mobile and connected technologies towards mental health and wellness – offers tremendous potential. Everyday it seems we read about new smartphone apps, wearables, and virtual reality tools that promise to improve mental health. At last count, there were over 10,000 mental health apps! But beyond the excitement, and often hype, what is the reality? What can technology really do today that may improve mental health care?
Background: Patients are increasingly asking for their health data. Yet, little is known about what motivates patients to engage with the electronic health record (EHR). Furthermore, quality-focused mechanisms for patients to comment about their records are lacking.
Objective: We aimed to learn more about patient experiences with reading and providing feedback on their visit notes.
Methods: We developed a patient feedback tool linked to OpenNotes as part of a pilot quality improvement initiative focused on patient engagement. Patients who had appointments with members of 2 primary care teams piloting the program between August 2014-2015 were eligible to participate. We asked patients what they liked about reading notes and about using a feedback tool and analyzed all patient reports submitted during the pilot period. Two researchers coded the qualitative responses (κ=.74).
Patients have unprecedented online access to their medical records. More than 6 million Americans can now read their doctors’ notes via patient portals, and continued rapid growth is likely. Sharing notes with patients may yield important health benefits, including increased patient empowerment and improved medication adherence. Seeing written information, including notes, helps patients remember the plan of care, reinforces patients’ positive behaviors, and strengthens the patient–doctor alliance.
