Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Practice Practice Pointer

Adapting to transparent medical records: international experience with “open notes”

BMJ 2022; 379 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2021-069861 (Published 21 November 2022) Cite this as: BMJ 2022;379:e069861

Rapid Response:

Five questions about Open Notes

Dear Editor

Is the development of Open Notes changing the landscape of medical writing and reporting in the charts?
Are we not verging on reducing medical reports to politically correct neutral statements?
Does this not emasculate medical reporting by frightening doctors from writing personal opinion or their own personal impressions on patients from fear of being sued or complained about?
Should there not be the equivalent of legal privilege for writing medical notes akin to safe spaces on university campuses or even diplomatic immunity?
The risk benefit analysis of having Open Notes seems to be benefit to the patients because they have access to the notes, and restriction on doctors in documenting facts with no opinion or impression given.
Does this not dilute truth telling, precision of doctors' impressions and holistic care? ​

Competing interests: No competing interests

09 June 2023
Jelena O Carroll
Psychiatry registrar
Yewande Ayodele, Ugo Okafor, Eugene Breen
MMUH/UCD
Dublin, Ireland