More US patients to have easy, free access to doctor’s notes

More U.S. patients will soon have free, electronic access to the notes their doctors write about them under a new federal requirement for transparency. About 15% of health care systems already are letting patients read doctor notes online without charge. Doctors use that word.” To Bartel, who became more involved in her care after getting an infection in the hospital, reading notes means she’s doing what she can to prevent errors and stay healthy. Dr. Marlene Millen of UC San Diego Health, which launched a pilot program for primary care patients in 2018, said that’s not her experience. Others do, but save her time because they arrive for appointments “and already know what the next step in the plan is because they had read the prior note.” UC San Diego Health is opening notes to another 130,000 patients Monday, as more specialists are added.