Table 2:

Provider Experiences with Patient Portals and Patient Access to Mental Health Clinical Notes (N = 29)

Events occurring due to patients reading mental health notes	Yes	No	Unsure
Has any of the following occurred after your patients accessed their mental health information through their patient portal?
A patient asked more questions about his or her treatment.	20 (69%)	9 (31%)	0 (0%)
A patient experienced significant distress after reading mental health information accessed through the patient portal.	16 (55%)	10 (35%)	3 (10%)
A patient requested a change in the content of a provider note.	21 (72%)	7 (24%)	1 (3%)
A patient followed your treatment recommendations more closely.	4 (14%)	9 (32%)	15 (54%)
A patient terminated treatment because he or she did not agree with information accessed through the patient portal.	8 (29%)	16 (57%)	4 (14%)
A patient reported engaging in negative and/or self-destructive behavior towards themselves or others after reading material in the provider note.	6 (21%)	21 (75%)	1 (4%)
A patient reported feeling comforted or relieved after reading mental health information in the patient portal.	5 (17%)	18 (62%)	6 (21%)
Has any of the following occurred in your practice as a result of your organization providing patients access to their mental health information online?
You have omitted important clinical detail in your provider narrative summary of the visit.	10 (35%)	19 (66%)	0 (0%)
You have spent significantly more time addressing patient questions outside of visits.	5 (17%)	23 (79%)	1 (4%)
You have experienced a lawsuit or tort claim related to provider notes.	1 (3%)	28 (97%)	0 (0%)
You have been worried and/or anxious about how a patient would respond to a provider note you have written.	18 (62%)	11 (38%)	0 (0%)
You have NOT changed your practice or been impacted by patients having access to their mental health information in the patient portal.	10 (36%)	16 (57%)	2 (7%)