Physicians to share notes with patients
As more hospitals use electronic medical records, a new question has arisen: should patients be allowed to view their physicians’ notes and comments online? Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center believes so. Beth Israel has begun a project called “open notes” that will allow 25,000 to 35,000 patients to read their physicians’ notes online for a year as part of their online medical record. The project will include 100 physicians at the hospital and two other sites.
“Patients remember precious little details about what happens in the doctor’s office,” Tom Delbanco, MD, a Beth Israel Deaconess internist and a co-investigator tells The Boston Globe. The study hopes to determine whether sharing notes is beneficial to patients and helps them become more knowledgeable about their treatment and their physicians’ instructions, or whether it causes problems between patients and their physicians if patients read something they do not like or do not agree with.
Even though this study will be the largest one to date on the issue, Stephen Downs, assistant vice president at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, tells The Boston Globe, there are still mixed feelings among physicians. Some believe that this study is the wave of the future, while others feel patients will flood their e-mail inbox with questions and comments about the notes.
What is your take on sharing notes with patients? Do you believe this will be the wave of the future, or that patients just aren’t ready? Does your facility have anything like this already in effect?
To read more on the article and other physician opinions, click here.
About the Author: Sarah is an Editorial Assistant in the patient safety group at HCPro, Inc. She contributes to two monthly newsletters; Briefings on the Joint Commission and Briefings on Patient Safety, and manages four e-zines; Accreditation Connection, AHAP Staff Challenge, Nurse Manager Weekly, and Healthcare Training Weekly. She also helps research new products for the patient safety and nursing market. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2008 where she earned her bachelor's degree in English.
