The Curious Side Effects of Medical Transparency

by Danielle Ofri
The New Yorker

Transparency has always been seen as a hallmark of honesty and integrity. The logic is familiar: democracies aspire to be transparent, but dictatorships are opaque; faithful spouses are guileless, while philanderers lie; reputable businesses operate in the open, but shady operations literally draw the shades. Collectively, we’ve embraced Louis Brandeis’s dictum that sunlight is the best disinfectant. We demand transparency in government, charitable institutions, nutrition labels, and middle-school grading rubrics. The medical record should be no different.

And yet, in writing medical notes in this new age of full medical transparency, I can feel an awkwardness creeping in. There is something disquieting about knowing that my every word might be scrutinized.

Read the full article in The New Yorker.