64
HEALTH
IT
Patients Push for Transparency: OpenNotes at
Northwest Permanente
By Akanksha Jayanthi
T
he patient-physician relationship has long been uni-directional:
e clinician determines a diagnosis and treatment plan, and the
patient follows along, taking the clinician's word at face value.
But now, patients have developed the autonomy and desire to be active
participants and decision-makers when it comes to their care.
is transition became fairly evident to Kaiser Permanente in 2014
when the Northwest division of the Oakland, Calif.-based health system
was contemplating launching an OpenNotes initiative.
OpenNotes is a nationwide movement encouraging clinicians to share
clinical notes and visit summaries with their patients. e formal initia-
tive was introduced in 2010 and three health systems underwent a trial
run of the initiative: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston;
Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa.; and Harborview Medical
Center in Seattle.
ree years later, a Portland, Ore.-based organization called We Can
Do Better, which advocates for the triple aim, held a conference and
discussed OpenNotes with attending health systems. e organization
presented a study in Annals of Internal Medicine that outlined the suc-
cess the initial three health systems had with their OpenNotes projects,
and the attendees signed on.
Becker's 5
th
Annual
November 7-9, 2016 l Swissotel, Chicago
CEO + CFO
Roundtable
