In How Patient-Provider Engagement Can Transform Patient Safety I proposed a shared care plan, which the patient and family would be able to read. 
I just learned that Abington Memorial Hospital, outside Philadelphia, already offers a daily one. Click the image to see a PDF.
They have many anecdotes of medical errors that were avoided because the patient and family could see the plan, point out allergies, note things that didn’t get done during the day, etc.
How did they do this? Custom programming? Yes and no: it’s a report they created on their Eclipsys medical record system.
Wonderful! This is one example of the great potential of health IT, to leverage information for better care. Let patients help.
Hospitals, can you do the same? The people at Abington are happy to share.
Read Abington’s press release about the “CARE Plan” (Communication, Access to info, Resources & Education), for which they won a 2008 Magnet Prize.
Dave, the links don’t work pls check and repost
Regards Kathi
Kathy, I only found one broken link, but it was a biggie: the PDF of the care document! That’s what I get for trying to post while I’m in a meeting – imperfect attention to detail.
Thanks!
We give patient’s a copy of their SOAP notes in our private practice. No grants or awards, just good practice management.
Caryn, for we who are pretty new to this, could you explain what SOAP notes are? If I were a patient I’d have no clue, and I’m hoping to attract a whole lot of them to this discussion.:–)
SOAP is the required format for Doctors notes.
S=Subjective, the patient’s complaint
O=Objective, what the doctor observes
A=Assessment, adding in any test results to get a diagnosis
P=Plan, the prescription for medication, home care and follow up care
That’s the simple explanation. There are “Practice Protocols” to consider which is the accepted method according to training of determining each diagnosis and treatment plan.
The SOAP notes from an electronic record, should be an easy to understand, plain language document. This is not the chicken scratch seen in most paper charts. The information will let the patient see that the doctor heard their complaint, had some idea of the problem, made an effort to find out what needed to be done and in future visits, checked on progress and reevaluated the treatment options.
Hey, Caryn!
I like that there is a protocol. Personally, I’ve never heard of SOAP before, but I’m fairly new at this.
One question: where does the patient input on treatment decisions fit?
Annie
That is the S=Subjective. Everything the patient tells the doctor should be there.
The electronic record forces the doctor to complete each section of the SOAP note before the page will go to billing. This way, the patient is assured that the doctor listened to what they are being told. It’s also up to the patient, or their advocate to review the note before leaving the office, to make sure everything you discussed is there and that all your questions are answered in the note. This also helps any of your other doctors who need to know what you have done so far.
Hey, Dave!
WOW! I can’t even imagine getting so much information from a doctor or hospital. It’s well organized, easily understandable, and I love that the POA/Living Will info is right at the top.
This could save so many mistakes! As an e-patient, I’d be able to catch tests being run that I don’t understand the reason for and results that haven’t yet been explained so that I could make better choices about my care.
Annie
The Health Care system should listen up and let’s work on this!