Patient-Doctor Communication

The need to improve patient-doctor communication is not new. Yet the approach for improvement has taken on a new look. Patients more frequently request copies of their medical records, and research symptoms and treatments on their own. In this way, patients are able to prepare a list of questions prior to their medical appointments, and are more inclined to take notes as their health issues are discussed.

To further expand this new approach, physician notes will be disclosed to patients in a pilot program involving 100 primary care physicians and approx. 25,000 patients.
As US News Health reports, “Patients have had the legal right to review doctors’ notes since 1996, under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), but few do. The new initiative coincides with a nationwide push for electronic medical records, not to mention the migration toward the Internet as a preferred source of information and communication.”
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Remember, your medical history belongs to you!