Patients Managing Medications and Reading Their Visit Notes: A Survey of OpenNotes Participants

Abstract

Background: As many as half of Americans with chronic illness do not take their medications as prescribed, which contributes to poorer health outcomes and up to $300 billion annually in avoidable health care costs (1). As patients increasingly read their visit notes through online portals (www.opennotes.org), reports from primary care practices have suggested that patient access to notes may improve adherence to medications (2). Objective: We examined patients' perceptions of how note reading affects factors related to medication adherence. In addition, we sought to understand their engagement with online medication lists and their willingness to participate in keeping those lists correct and up to date. Methods: In 2017, we did an online survey of patients in the 3 health systems that participated in the original Open-Notes pilot (3). These 3 systems provide patients with online access to clinical notes throughout most of their ambulatory practices. Eligible patients were aged 18 years or older and in the previous 12 months had logged into the portal at least once and had an ambulatory visit note available. We sent the survey to all potential participants between June and October 2017. We offered 50 raffle prizes at each site as an incentive for participation. Results: Of 136 815 patients who received survey invitations, 29 656 (22%) responded (Figure 1). Among the 19 411 LETTERS

The Views and Experiences of Clinicians Sharing Medical Record Notes With Patients

“…It is well known that survey response rates overall are declining, and surveys of physicians are no exception. 19,20 However, our response rate was not markedly different from, and in some cases was better than, other physician surveys conducted online. [22][23][24][25][26][27] Furthermore, a low response rate is not necessarily an indication of response bias, 28,29 particularly for physician respondents, 30 but we cannot eliminate the possibility that our respondents may differ in important ways from those who did not respond to the survey.…”

“…8 318 (4) . (22) 50 (20) 118 (22) 85 (22) 81 (21) 102 (20) 59 (24) 50 (17) 111 (23) Abbreviation: PCP, primary care physician.…”

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“…There is also an increasing body of evidence that patients having access to their clinical notes and data increases satisfaction and compliance [91,92]. There is an appetite for patient-controlled records and data.…”

The development of an epilepsy electronic patient portal: Facilitating both patient empowerment and remote clinician‐patient interaction in a post‐COVID‐19 world

“…15,[23][24] ePortal access is sending a message of inclusivity. 6 Patients report that accessing clinic notes via an ePortal provides an aide memoir, 18 helps build confidence in their healthcare provider, 25,26 and allows them to act as safety partners as they can validate the content of their healthcare record. 27 In summary, ePortal functionality aligns with PFCC ambitions to actively involve patients and families as direct partners in 28 which underpins the NCPE.…”