Patients can improve their relationship with doctors by writing their own medical record: Study

A team of scientists have said that allowing people to write their own medical records can actually help the patients feel more involved in the treatment.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles found out that patients could benefit if they are encouraged to co-produce medical notes, called “OurNotes,” with their doctors, rather than just reading them.

The study which was published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine says that the practice may turn out to be beneficial for the doctors as it can reduce the time spent on documentation.

As per John Mafi from the University of California, “If executed thoughtfully, OurNotes has the potential to reduce documentation demands on clinicians, while having both the patient and clinician focusing on what’s most important to the patient,”.

John also added that piloting OurNotes will start at four centres next year.

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In order to prepare for the pilots, the team of scientists conducted in-depth telephonic interviews with 29 health care experts.

The results indicated that participants overall believed that OurNotes can promote patient engagement and also improve patient-provider collaboration and patient-centred care. Participants also believed that writing one’s own record can probably take some of the documentation burden from the busy providers.

The consensus among the researchers was that the most promising and suitable approach for OurNotes is to contact the patients before they visit the doctors and ask them to review the previous notes, give an interval history and also list what they wish to address at the visit.

(With PTI inputs)