OpenNotes Updates
Effective Wednesday, March 1, 2023, all lab and test results will post to MyChart immediately upon finalization. This change is being made to ensure compliance with the 21st Century Cures Act.
Other high performing organizations have long practiced immediate release. This change will both empower our patients and ensure we are complying with federal regulations.
Here are some talking points you can use with your patients when discussing lab and test results:
- To fully engage you in your care, your test/lab results will be available in MyChart as soon as they are available. You will most likely hear from our office within a few days to review the results.
- Please know, regardless of your results, your care team has a plan prepared for you.
- You do not need to review your results when they are available. If you prefer, you can choose to wait to be contacted with your results. We understand that some test results are more difficult to understand, and you may want to discuss them with a medical professional.
- If the patient is receiving multiple tests. Please know, some of your test results may be available sooner than others as each test takes a different amount of time to process.
- Not all test results marked as ‘abnormal’ are clinically significant. If you have immediate concerns, please contact our office.
Behavioral OpenNotes Update
Effective Tuesday, January 3, 2023, behavioral health notes defaulted to share with the patient in MyChart. This change was made to ensure compliance with the 21st Century Cures Act. Practitioners have the ability to hold a note from being shared with a patient by choosing to do so prior to signing the note.
This change in default status is prospective not retrospective. Behavioral Health notes written prior to January 3, 2023, are not be shared in MyChart.
Effective January 3, 2023, notes from Behavioral Health residents are immediately available to the patient in MyChart regardless of the co-signature status. This mimics the process already in place for other medical residents.
Click here for additional information about this update and instructions.
Pediatric OpenNotes Updates
On Thursday, July 1, 2021, updates were made to the release of inpatient and pediatric notes. Inpatient notes are now released to MyChart 24 hours following signing. Despite this update, the following notes will continue to not be shared:
- notes written on patients between 12 and 17 years old;
- notes written by behavioral health providers; and
- notes written on behavioral health units.
On January 12, 2022, Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) began using MyChart Teen Access for its patients aged 12-17. To ensure the privacy of our teenaged patients, patients aged 12-17 who have not activated this new class of MyChart by September 7, 2022 will lose access to their MyChart. These patients can regain access to their MyChart by completing the MyChart Teen form and returning it to their physician’s office.
These changes were made to ensure HMH is in compliance with the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016.
What’s MyChart Teen Access
MyChart Teen Access is a new class of MyChart access that is used for patients aged 12-17. MyChart Teen Access will enable our teenaged patients and their proxies to access their medical information while also maintaining privacy around sensitive issues.
These new MyChart rules are network-wide and apply to both pediatrics and non-pediatric physicians (i.e. family medicine). If there is risk of harm from release of health information, clinicians are able to opt out of release and designate the reason. The Problem List will be released unless the clinician selects "do not share with patient."
Pediatric Update: July 2021
The OpenNotes settings for pediatric patients changed on Thursday, July 1, 2021. The default status of pediatric notes changed from not being visible in MyChart to shared notes being visible (see table below). If there is risk of harm from release of health information, clinicians are able to opt out of release and designate the reason. Some important items to note:
- For patients younger than aged 12, notes are shared and viewable by their proxy in MyChart. All notes written July 1, 2021 and onward that have been shared will be visible to the proxy.
- For patients between the ages of 12-17, no notes are visible on MyChart to either the patient or their proxy (see table below). Please note that once the patient turns 18, all notes written July 1, 2021 and onward that have been shared will be visible to the patient.
- The Problem List is released unless the clinician selects "do not share with patient."
- These MyChart rules are network-wide and apply to both pediatrics and non-pediatric physicians (i.e. family medicine).
New confidential note types are now available. We encourage the use of these note templates. If you need to document additional information, add it to the note but be mindful of how that specific note is shared.
*NEW* Click here for information on the templates.
The new templates are:
- NICUHP
- NEWBORNHP
- MATERNALHISTORYCONFIDENTIALNOTE
- DELIVERYROOMATTENDANCENNOTE
- CONFIDENTIALADOLPATIENTNOTE
Click here for Pediatrics OpenNotes FAQs (last updated January 6, 2022)
About OpenNotes
On March 31, 2021, Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) went “live” with OpenNotes, providing patients with free access to their visit notes through MyChart.
OpenNotes is a national initiative to make provider notes available to patients through MyChart. OpenNotes applies to notes written by anyone who contributes to the patient’s chart, including HMH and Hackensack Meridian Health Partners providers. If the note is available in Epic, it will be available to the patient.
This resource page provides you with helpful information and resources related to OpenNotes.
OpenNotes Resources
- OpenNotes FAQS last updated December 31, 2022
- OpenNotes Presentation
- OpenNotes Website
Specialty Resources
Why Did We Launch OpenNotes
- It’s the right thing to do for our patients. 99% of patients felt the same or better about their doctor after reading notes. Up to 87% of patients say it helps them feel more in control of their care and 85% of patients would select a provider based on their use of OpenNotes.
- We become competitive with other local, regional and national health care providers who offer notes through MyChart.
- High performing organizations already are meeting this standard.
- It provides access. Providing patients unrestricted electronic access to specified contents of their record upon their request is now required under the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016.
How OpenNotes Benefits You and Your Patients *
More than 50 million patients already have access to OpenNotes at 50 health systems across the U.S., including our competitors.
Patients now have access to notes from all providers, including:
- Physicians
- Advanced practice providers
- Nurses
- Medical assistants
Statistic Sources*
- https://www.opennotes.org/
- New England Journal of Medicine
- Delbanco, Journal of Medical Internet Research 2012
- Bell, BMJ Quality & Safety 2017
- DesRoches, JAMA Netw Open 2020
- Sigall, JAMA Netw Open 2020
- Leveille, JGIM 2020
- Walker, BMJ, 2015
- Salmi et al., Open Notes in Oncology: Patient versus Oncology Clinician Views, Cancer Cell (2020)