Abstract Body

Background and purpose

OPEN, the Dutch national program to help general practitioners with online access to medical records for patients, is two years into its 4 year duration. With an enrolment of 97% of GPs and a potential reach of the entire population, the impact on patient doctor relations, patient empowerment and shared decision making is substantial.

Closely monitoring the progress and course of OPEN via a data cockpit, the authors present first-hand information ‘from the flight deck’.

Methods

Data on implementation by GPs and usage of online access by patients was collected in all 57 regions and 4745 GP-practices (of 4887) via quarterly measurements. A survey among staff enrolled in an eLearning (n = 24.994) measured attitude towards online access. Social Return on Investment Analysis provided insight in costs and benefits. Scientific research is conducted with the Universities of Nijmegen and Maastricht and the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research.

Results

During the second half of 2020 almost 80% of practices implemented and 5% of the population aged over 15 used online access (0% to 24% of regional population). Significant regional (65-89%) and inter-staff (55-85%) variability in positive attitude towards online access were found prior to implementation in 2020. Positive attitude was higher than the 35% found by the national e-health monitor in 2018. As quarterly data-sets accumulate, insight is gained in the cause and background of these differences.

Conclusions

Monitoring and internationally comparing data of a national program for ‘open notes’ offers unprecedented insight in this major change in patient doctor relations and changing attitude of medical staff in the Netherlands.