With the new access, the patients can view visit summaries written by their providers, and interact with the note by correcting mistakes, such as incorrect medication dosages, according to the report. By sharing these notes with patients, BIDMC hopes to increase patients’ engagement as well as give providers an incentive to write notes as objectively as possible.
A growing number of hospitals and health systems, including Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health and Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health System allow patients to access their full medical records, including physicians’ notes. However, few organizations have allowed access to mental health notes.
Currently, about 10 percent of the hospital’s mental health patients have access to their providers’ notes. The selected patients are among the most high-functioning, according to the report.
“We thought, how can we find a safe place to start?” Pamela Peck, clinical director for the psychiatry department, told the Globe. “Are there patients who would feel [upset by reading] about aspects of their psychiatric illness? That is a question that is still up for discussion.”
More Articles on Note Sharing:
Kaiser, Legacy Health, Others Join OpenNotes Initiative
When Hospitals Share Data, Who Benefits?
Patient Safety Tool: OpenNotes’ Toolkit for Note Sharing
