IN THE OFFICE One million patients sign up in Oregon and Southwest Washington Since the formation of the Northwest OpenNotes Collaborative, an estimated one million patients in Oregon and Southwest Washington now have electronic access to the notes their providers include in medical records. This marks the first time that OpenNotes, a national movement that urges health-related organizations to adopt open access to clinician notes as a standard of care, has been embraced simultaneously throughout an entire region. With the wide-spread implementation of electronic health records, direct patient access to their medical records can now technically be provided through a secure internet link. The systems and groups that have agreed to join the OpenNotes collaborative are now, or will soon, offer their patients real-time online access to medical record notes following a clinic visit. This is a major step forward in transparency, improving the ability for patients to be a partner in their care and treatment. The nonprofit We Can Do Better organized this consortium. It creates the first model nationally of how a large community can collaboratively embrace “OpenNotes,” a movement that invites patients to read their clinicians’ notes. Our goal is to implement this as collaboratively and seamlessly as possible, working together to benefit consumers without unduly burdening health providers. We welcome other provider groups of all sizes to join the Northwest OpenNotes Consortium and the OpenNotes movement. Please contact Amy Fellows, MPH amy@wecandobetter.org for more information. w ww.theOMA.org Winter 2015 25
OMA Winter 2015 Magazine
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