Comparing Healthcare Visit Recording and Open Notes to Improve Chronic iLlness Care Experience in Older Adults

The research team is working with primary care clinics at three health systems across the country to enroll adults ages 65 and older who are managing diabetes or high blood pressure, plus one other disease. The team is assigning patients by chance to one of two groups. Each group will have an equal numbers of patients. Patients in one group will get access to visit notes through the patient portal. The research team will give patients guidance on how to find and use their visit notes. Patients in the other group will not only have access to their visit notes patients but also get access to audio-recordings of their visits. After each visit, patients in both groups will receive emails to review their visit information: 1) two days after their visit to remind them of their visit discussion and any tasks they may have, and 2) three days before their next visit, they will be asked to think of any changes from their last visit and to make a list of three things they want to talk to their doctor about. The team is comparing changes reported by patients over six months in quality of life, satisfaction, self-management ability, treatment adherence, and visit communication. The team will also invite caregivers identified by patients to join the project. They will show patients how to share their visit notes or recordings with caregivers. Caregivers will report on changes in how prepared they feel to provide care, burden related to caregiving, and how much they felt part of the patient's visit conversation.