Doctors' Notes: A Must Read for Patients

Patients are enthusiastic about embracing access to their medical notes, while doctors are cautious. That’s one of the key findings from a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine reporting on OpenNotes.

The study found:

• Nearly all patients (92-97%) thought open visit notes were a good idea.
• Most participating doctors (69-81%) thought open visit notes were a good idea, compared with only 16-33% of doctors who declined participation.
• More than half of participating doctors (50-58%) and most nonparticipating doctors (88-92%) expected that open visit notes would result in greater worry among patients. Far fewer patients (12-16%) expected the same.

These findings are consistent with results from a second RWJF-supported study in the Annals, a survey of 18,500 patients in the Department of Veterans Affairs' medical system. The survey found that an overwhelming number of patients are interested in giving relatives, caregivers and health care providers access to their online health information.

• Find out more about OpenNotes and read the Annals of Internal Medicine study.
• Read more about the Department of Veterans Affairs study.
• Read a guest Pioneering Ideas blog post on the potential of OpenNotes.