People with diabetes who read their clinicians' visit notes: Behaviors and attitudes

OBJECTIVES

To understand behaviors and attitudes of adults with diabetes who read their clinicians' visit notes.

METHODS

By linking a large 2017 patient survey involving three institutions with administrative and portal use data, we identified patients with diabetes mellitus from outpatient records and examined reading behaviors related to eligible notes-initial, follow-up, history and physical, and progress notes. We analyzed patients' perceived benefits of reading notes.

RESULTS

2104 respondents had diagnoses of diabetes mellitus and had read ≥1 note in the 12-month period. Patients had an average of 8.7 eligible notes available and read 59% of them. The strongest predictor of reading more notes was having more notes available; the specialties of the authoring clinicians were not correlated with note reading rates. Patients reported understanding notes by primary care clinicians and specialists equally well; more than 90% of patients reported understanding everything or almost everything in a self-selected note. Across visit types, 73-80% of patients reported that note reading was extremely important for taking care of their health.

DISCUSSION

People with diabetes want to read their clinicians' notes, are accessing them at high rates, and report understanding the notes and benefiting from reading them.

Reasons for Acceptance or Rejection of Online Record Access Among Patients Affected by a Severe Mental Illness: Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND

Over the past few years, online record access (ORA) has been established through secure patient portals in various countries, allowing patients to access their health data, including clinical notes ("open notes"). Previous research indicates that ORA in mental health, particularly among patients with severe mental illness (SMI), has been rarely offered. Little is known about the expectations and motivations of patients with SMI when reading what their clinicians share via ORA.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to explore the reasons why patients with SMI consider or reject ORA and whether sociodemographic characteristics may influence patient decisions.

METHODS

ORA was offered to randomly selected patients at 3 university outpatient clinics in Brandenburg, Germany, which exclusively treat patients with SMI. Within the framework of a mixed methods evaluation, qualitative interviews were conducted with patients who chose to participate in ORA and those who declined, aiming to explore the underlying reasons for their decisions. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Sociodemographic characteristics of patients were examined using descriptive statistics to identify predictors of acceptance or rejection of ORA.

RESULTS

Out of 103 included patients, 58% (n=60) wished to read their clinical notes. The reasons varied, ranging from a desire to engage more actively in their treatment to critically monitoring it and using the accessible data for third-party purposes. Conversely, 42% (n=43) chose not to use ORA, voicing concerns about possibly harming the trustful relationship with their clinicians as well as potential personal distress or uncertainty arising from reading the notes. Practical barriers such as a lack of digital literacy or suspected difficult-to-understand medical language were also named as contributing factors. Correlation analysis revealed that the majority of patients with depressive disorder desired to read the clinical notes (P<.001), while individuals with psychotic disorders showed a higher tendency to decline ORA (P<.05). No significant group differences were observed for other patient groups or characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

The adoption of ORA is influenced by a wide range of motivational factors, while patients also present a similar variety of reasons for declining its use. The results emphasize the urgent need for knowledge and patient education regarding factors that may hinder the decision to use ORA, including its practical usage, its application possibilities, and concerns related to data privacy. Further research is needed to explore approaches for adequately preparing individuals with SMI to transition from their inherent interest to active engagement with ORA.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

German Clinical Trial Register DRKS00030188; https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00030188.

Patient Access to Online Visit Notes: Perceptions of Doctors and Patients at an Urban HIV/AIDS Clinic

Patients living with HIV/AIDS face large societal and medical challenges. Inviting patients to read their doctors' visit notes via secure electronic portals may empower patients and improve health. We investigated whether utilization and perceptions about access to doctors' notes differed among doctors and patients in an HIV/AIDS clinic versus primary care setting. We analyzed pre- and 1-year postintervention data from 99 doctors and 3819 patients. HIV clinic patients did not report differences in perceived risks and benefits compared to primary care clinic patients, however, they were more likely to share notes with friends (33% versus 9%, P=.002), other health professionals (24% versus 8%, P=.03), or another doctor (38% versus 9%, P<.0001). HIV clinic doctors were less likely than primary care doctors to change the level of candor in visit notes (P<.04). Our findings suggest that HIV clinic patients and doctors are ready to share visit notes online.