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In November 2020, new legislation — part of the 21st Century Cures Act — takes effect; it requires healthcare institutions to make patients' electronic health record information, including most clinical notes, immediately available to patients. The new “open notes” that must be made available electronically to patients include:
History and physical (H&P) notes
Discharge summaries
Consultation notes
Progress notes
Procedure notes
Laboratory, imaging, and pathology report narratives
Psychiatry notes can be excluded. Availability of retrospective notes is not required, although some health systems or apps might make them available.
Recent survey experience with open notes suggests that patients' review of notes helps them recall and understand their c…