A Patient's View of OpenNotes

In this editorial the author comments on the arguments for and against easy access by patients to their doctor's notes, as well as reflecting on his family's experience with a lack of transparency between doctor and patient. The author argues that OpenNotes can stimulate a flow of information that leads to greater accountability on behalf of health care personnel, a development that in the end can only improve the quality of patient care. The same issue of Annals of Internal Medicine reports on an extensive, three facility trial of OpenNotes that concluded it was an overwhelming success with patients and that doctor fears were not realized.