ArticleApplied clinical informatics2019
Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Patients' Perceptions of the Patient Portal Experience with OpenNotes.
Article in Applied clinical informatics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Impact of online patient access to clinical notes on quality of care: a systematic review.BMJ quality & safety · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Impact of Digital Patient Portals on Health Outcomes, System Efficiency, and Patient Attitudes: Updated Systematic Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Functionalities and Issues in the Implementation of Personal Health Records: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Patient-Facing Visualizations of Personal Health Data.Applied clinical informatics · 2019Pooled it
- Comparing Virtual Reality-Based and Traditional Physical Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) Stations for Clinical Competency Assessments: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Effect of Notes' Access and Complexity on OpenNotes' Utility.Applied clinical informatics · 2022Trial
- Access to Online Patient Portals for Adolescents With Cancer: Benefits, Concerns, and Challenges.Pediatric blood & cancer · 2026Article
- Chaplains' Charting in the USA in the Era of "Open Notes:" Recommendations from a Quality Improvement Project.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Anticipatory guidance and follow-up regarding online access to test results in the Canadian pediatric setting.Paediatrics & child health · 2025Article
- Changes in Documentation After Implementing Open Notes in Mental Health Care: Pre-Post Mixed Methods Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Parental Access to Adolescent Online Healthcare Portals: Benefits, Problems, and Barriers.Applied clinical informatics · 2025Article
- Coaching Patients to Understand and Use Patient-Reported Outcome Data: Intervention Design and Evaluation.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Patient Portal Use Among Patients With Vascular Anomalies and Their Caregivers.Pediatric blood & cancer · 2025Article
- Guidelines for Patient-Centered Documentation in the Era of Open Notes: Qualitative Study.JMIR medical education · 2025Article
- Guiding Principles for Adolescent Web-Based Portal Access Policies: Interviews With Informatics Administrators.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2024Article
- Patient Engagement in Neuroradiology: A Narrative Review and Case Studies.AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology · 2024Review
- Perception of Physicians' Notes Among Parents of Different Health Literacy Levels.Hospital pediatrics · 2024Article
- Identifying contributors to disparities in patient access of online medical records: examining the role of clinician encouragement.JAMIA open · 2023Article
- A New Health Care Paradigm: The Power of Digital Health and E-Patients.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Digital health · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAccess to medical encounter notes (OpenNotes) is believed to empower patients and improve the quality and safety of care. The impact of such access is not well understood beyond select health care systems and notes from primary care providers.
objectivesThis article analyzes patients' perceptions about the patient portal experience with access to primary care and specialist's notes and evaluates free-text comments as an improvement opportunity. MATERIALS AND
methodsPatients at an academic health care system who accessed the patient portal from February 2016 to May 2016 were provided a link to complete a 15-item online survey. Those who had viewed at least one note were asked about patient characteristics, frequency of note access, note usefulness, note understanding, and if any action was taken after accessing the note. Free-text comments were associated with nine questions which were analyzed using qualitative methods.
resultsA total of 23% (1,487/6,439) of patients who viewed the survey in the portal, participated. Seventy-six percent (1,126/1,487) knew that the notes were available on the portal, and of those, 957 had viewed at least one note to continue the survey. Ninety percent of those were older than 30 years of age, and 90% had some college education. The majority (83%) thought OpenNotes helped them take better care of themselves, without increasing worry (94%) or contacting the physician after reading the note (91%). The qualitative analysis of free-text responses demonstrated multiple positive and negative themes, and they were analyzed for potential improvement opportunities.
conclusionOur survey confirms that patients who choose to access their primary care and specialists' online medical records perceive benefits of OpenNotes. Additionally, the qualitative analysis of comments revealed positive benefits and several potential patient portal improvement opportunities which could inform implementation of OpenNotes at other health systems.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.