December 2020
Seasons Greetings from the OpenNotes Team
Open and transparent communication builds trust among patients, families and clinicians. We are learning that benefits accompanying open notes are especially pronounced for those facing socio-economic and language barriers, particularly in the midst of a pandemic that has laid bare the inequities in our healthcare system. As we look back at an incredibly difficult year and look forward to a far better one, OpenNotes is excited by the challenges that accompany establishing fundamental and truly national ​changes in the fabric of care.

Happy Holidays,

Cait & the entire OpenNotes team
Upcoming Webinars and Office Hours
In this webinar two of the nation’s top experts on “open mental health notes,” Steve Dobscha, MD, and Steve O'Neill, LICSW, BCD, JD, will review how both patients and clinicians can maximize benefit from sharing mental health notes.
Combined, Leonor Fernandez, MD, and CT Lin, MD, have 20 years of experience with open notes. In this webinar, they will help you understand and get more comfortable with “how to” write an open note. Learn more.
Office Hours offers participants the opportunity to ask specific questions about open notes in an informal group setting. The goal is both to learn from the experts and one another. There is no formal presentation during Office Hours.
OpenNotes News
Upcoming Event
2021 Health Datapalooza panel discussion:

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021
11:30am-12:30pm Eastern

Moderator: Liz Salmi, OpenNotes, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Panel
  • Anshu Abhat, MD, MPH, Harbor-UCLA, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
  • Donna Cryer, JD, Global Liver Institute
  • Cait DesRoches, DrPH, Harvard Medical School, OpenNotes
  • Deven McGraw, JD, MPH, LLM, Ciitizen Corporation
New OpenNotes Publications
Does Patient Access to Clinical Notes Change Documentation? Frontiers in Public Health, Blease C, Torous J, and Hägglund M

Mobile Access and Adoption of the Swedish National Patient Portal, Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, Hägglund M, Blease C, Scandurra I.

Contact kharcour@bidmc.harvard.edu to inquire about access to these publications.
In Case You Missed It
In this webinar, learn about major findings from open notes research over the past 10 years, and hear a physician share her experience and tips after 10 years of sharing notes in a safety net hospital. Find recordings and a download of the slides here.
What People Are Saying About Us
Get on the OpenNotes map
If your organization is offering open notes in advance of the Cures Rule compliance date, we would like to recognize your hard work.

OpenNotes continues to recognize health systems on the OpenNotes map if they implement (or will implement) open notes prior to the Information Blocking compliance date of April 5, 2021. Complete this brief survey to get started.
If you have questions about this process, contact Amanda Norris at anorris@bidmc.harvard.edu.