Open notes in cancer care: coming soon to patients

Does Patient Access to Clinical Notes Change Documentation?

“…Open notes are increasingly common, and will continue to grow. As more care continues to be delivered via telemedicine because of COVID, access to notes may help patients better adjust to this new care delivery format (24,25). While innovation brings about new benefits it also invites unforeseen challenges.…”

Open Notes in Oncology: Patient versus Oncology Clinician Views

“…The rule requires patients to be provided access to all health information in their electronic medical records, including progress notes (aka ''open notes'') (The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, 2020). Cancer patients and their families face serious quality of life and information burdens that may be alleviated through access to notes (Blease et al, 2020). Earlier work has shown differences between clinician and patient attitudes after open notes implementation (Delbanco et al, 2010), but there has been no investigation into how oncology clinician views differ from those of their patients.…”

Readdressing the Needs of Cancer Survivors During COVID-19: A Path Forward

“…Such practice exists in Nordic countries as well as several institutions in the United States and continues to grow worldwide (47)(48)(49). Encouragingly, new federal laws in the United States mandate that providers must extend open notes to all patients starting from November 2, 2020 (50). Although there is concern that patients' access to their oncology notes will trigger anxiety or confusion, research to date suggests that patients find this access to be useful; report improved understanding about their diagnosis, treatment risks, and side effects; and learn important information that they had missed during clinical visits (51)(52)(53)(54).…”

“…For patients with reliable internet access, patient portals can also allow remote communication, education, and scheduling of follow-up appointments and could support the electronic collection of patient-reported outcomes. The value of open notes can be optimized by improving both oncology professionals' clarity in online documentation and maximizing their use of tooltips as well as patients' understanding of the benefits and risks of accessing their medical records (50). The use of open notes is highlighted by the pandemic and has the potential to serve patients in the future.…”