What I'm reading: "The Curious Side Effects of Medical Transparency," by Dr. Danielle Ofri.
Hi all,
Just a brief note today. I’m giving a talk to the Statistical Advisory Group at the CDC tomorrow (via Zoom). The talk is entitled, “Measuring Excess Mortality During A Pandemic: Increasing Granularity, Speed, and Accuracy.”
Preparing the talk has been all consuming because I’m creating a mostly new slide deck for the occasion (with help from my colleague Benjy Renton, based on work from my research collaboration with my wonderful colleagues down at Yale). We’ll provide them with some updates on metrics they might already know about, but we will also unveil some things that they definitely have not yet seen. I’m really looking forward to it! And it’s just a nice opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come, both in terms of the pandemic and in improving research methodologies.
In the meantime, I want to share an article that I came across published in The New Yorker and written by Dr. Danielle Ofri called “The Curious Side Effects of Medical Transparency.” This is one of those articles that I had meant to write myself for some time. In this case, I’m glad Dr. Ofri beat me to it, because she does a superb job, and dives even more deeply than I might have in this instance—and with worthwhile effect. The piece describes the changes that have occurred since patients started having direct access to their medical test results via MyChart or other similar patient portal apps.
As predicted, many patients are now getting their medical test results on their phones or their computers before their own doctors have had a chance to see them. That means that doctors are not always there to help frame the meaning of test results—and it’s not always easy to do that without requisite expertise.
Overall, there are pros and cons to patients having unfettered access to their test results, which Dr. Ofri expertly describes. My experience has been similar to what is described in the essay, although as an ER doctor, there are some areas where the related challenges are disparate. So, I highly recommend you read it and I’d be happy to answer any questions that you have about this issue in the comment section below.
That’s all for now!
—Dr. Jeremy
"how far we've come": with the CDC holding a 2000 person gathering with no mitigations, a conference specifically to celebrate how far we've come and then having to cancel some meetings due to Covid spread amongst the attendees--it's hard to celebrate how far the CDC has come re: Covid. Especially as they will stop collecting and sharing data.
RE: open records, as an MD, I am thrilled to have my portals. But, I also am very careful not to overwhelm my providers with messages via portal--rarely send them. I do look at my notes and they are just so inaccurate, but I understand the limitations.
Good morning, I read Dr. Ofri’s New Yorker article, and while I understand the added burden that the recent changes in patient access has brought to the difficulty PCPs encounter managing the demands of their patient load and adjusting to that demand, I find access to my medical data important to my wellbeing. I want to know everything that I can learn about my ailments. Patients know that their PCP have about a half an hour allotted to them during any appointment. We watch the doctors glancing at either their watch or the computer screen clock and trying to move the appointment quickly to a conclusion. Patients should try to come to an appointment with a written list of their concerns, so if they have the results of their testing, they can ask relavant and semi-informed questions. When confronted with a new ailment, patients walk into a dark closet with no light. If other patients are like I have been during these periods, they find themselves totally alone and fearful. They need information and reduced censorship. Medicine is a capitalistic system so unfortunately, too often, we feel like it is buyer beware. So, our alternative is to ask questions. When our doctors appear annoyed by a questions and rushed, paranoia becomes difficult to control. I welcome information. Thé more; the better.