How do older patients with chronic conditions view reading open visit notes?

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Patient Engagement
• Chronic Disease Management

Background:

• Examining patient experiences with reading clinical outpatient visit notes.
• Focus on patients with multiple chronic conditions across three healthcare organizations.
• Investigating the impact of shared clinical notes on patient understanding and adherence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effect of reading clinical notes on patient engagement.
• To evaluate how note reading influences medication management in older adults.
• To understand patient perceptions of accessing their own health information.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional survey conducted via patient portals.
• Inclusion of patients aged 65+ who read clinical notes within the past year.
• Data collected from three diverse US healthcare organizations.

Main Results:

• Majority of patients read multiple clinical notes.
• Patients with >2 chronic conditions reported improved recall of care plans and medication adherence.
• Reading notes increased patient understanding and control over medications, with few reporting negative emotions.

Conclusions:

• Older patients with chronic conditions benefit from accessing clinical notes for care and medication management.
• Healthcare organizations should promote patient access to health information via portals and other methods.
• Maximizing patient engagement with health records enhances transparency and benefits both patients and healthcare systems.