Patients want to read, share their medical records - Reuters -

"Patients want easy access to any notes their doctor has recorded about them, and they want the right to let others view their medical information, according to a pair of US studies. Advocates of open-access medical records say they are not only a patient's right but will help boost the quality of care as well.... Dr. Tom Delbanco at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School...started OpenNotes, a system that gives patients an online portal to their doctors' comments from a visit....Their study surveyed more than 37,000 patients and more than 170 primary care doctors, in advance of the debut of OpenNotes, about their expectations for the system....Four out of five [physicians] thought it would cost them more time in having to answer patients' questions, and the majority also felt that the extra pair of eyes would cause them to censor their notes regarding mental health and substance abuse....Patients were overwhelmingly enthusiastic about OpenNotes, regardless of whether they decided to join the program or not, with more than 90 percent responding favorably...."