Mount Sinai Health System Launches OpenNotes Initiative to Improve Communication between Patients and Providers
Mount Sinai Health System has launched OpenNotes, a national initiative that allows patients electronic access to their provider’s notes in their medical records, at the East 102nd Street and East 85th Street Primary Care Associates of the Mount Sinai Doctors Faculty Practice offices. Mount Sinai is at the forefront of patient engagement as the first institution in New York City to provide patients direct access to the notes providers write during visits using the health system’s online patient portal. OpenNotes aims to provide the highest quality care possible by increasing transparency, communication, and trust between patients and physicians.
“When patients can access their physicians’ notes, they can better understand their medical issues and treatment plan as active partners in their care,” said Sandra Myerson, System Chief Patient Experience Officer, Joseph F. Cullman, Jr. Institute for Patient Experience, Mount Sinai Health System. “This can ultimately lead to improved patient engagement, patient empowerment, and communication between patient and physician.”
Four Mount Sinai physicians in various clinical practices conducted the initial OpenNotes pilot beginning in December 2015. Patients who participated in this effort reported great satisfaction with their ability to access more in depth medical records and reported feeling more connected and involved in their healthcare. Patients noted the information provided a better timeline of care, history of treatments, and thorough explanation of office visits.
"Patients expect and deserve to have full access to their medical records and the Mount Sinai Health System is committed to meeting this expectation," said Jeremy Boal, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Mount Sinai Health System.
The notes are available for the first time in the health system’s online electronic health record (EHR) patient portal called MyMountSinaiChart. Portal users can now easily read details of their office visit from the convenience of their personal computer, tablet, or smart phone. MyMountSinaiChart, launched in 2012, also enables patients to communicate with their doctor, access test results, request prescription refills, and manage appointments. The addition of OpenNotes expands this innovative and secure technology to further improve patient care and communication.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, nearly 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time — discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country’s best in several pediatric specialties.
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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