'OurNotes' pilot to make OpenNotes program interactive

The OpenNotes program, an initiative that enables patients to access notes in their providers' electronic health records, is expanding to become interactive, according to an article from WBUR in Boston.

The new pilot, called OurNotes, is funded by a $450,000 grant from the Commonwealth Fund and will enable patients to contribute to their own medical data--such as collaborating on a note, reporting how an antibiotic worked or alerting a clinician to a mistake in the note--Jan Walker, co-director of the project at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, told WBUR.   

The pilot also will be conducted at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pennsylvania, Harborview Medical Center in Washington, Group Health in Seattle and Heartland Health in St. Joseph, Missouri. The original OpenNotes experiment was first piloted at Beth Israel, Geisinger and Harborview, and has now expanded to cover 5 million patients nationwide. Beth Israel also expanded its program recently to include patient access to their mental health notes.

The pilot will vary somewhat from location to location, according to Walker. However, its premise will be the same throughout.  

"This is really the next stage of development for medical records, we think. ... OurNotes will invite patients to be active rather than passive participants in care," she said.

The trend of providing patients with access to their notes has, for the most part, been viewed positively by patients and clinicians, and may eventually become the standard of care.

To learn more:
- read the article