Open Medical Records Can Spur Frank Talk Between Doctors And Patients
As more doctors' offices give patients electronic access to their medical records, both patients and their physicians are asking: Exactly how much of your medical record should you get to see?
One day this spring, an elderly patient of mine became upset with me because, she said, I had betrayed her trust.
The issue was a short note I had written in her medical record about her difficult relationship with her child. The note was a reminder for me and anybody else in the hospital where I worked that the patient didn't have anyone who could accompany her to appointments.
A specialist my patient was also seeing was using an electronic record system that automatically put my note into his. When he shared his notes with her, my
