Records revealed

Patients at Enloe Medical Center now have the option of reviewing their medical records with a doctor or nurse.

Making the records readily available is intended to give patients a more active role in their health-care and treatment plan, according to an Enloe Medical Center press release. The presence of a physician or nurse promotes dialogue between patients and their health-care providers.

It also ensures that they understand the medical terminology therein. “When a person is in the hospital, they tend to be receiving a lot of information, which can be overwhelming,” said Enloe spokeswoman Christina Chavira. “It can be hard to take it all in.”

Although not automatically provided, patients can also order copies of their medical records once they are released. Enloe’s new policy is one of its Planetree initiatives, which are intended to personalize, humanize and demystify patients’ health-care experience.