BACKGROUND: Information is crucial for increasing the patients' empowerment and autonomy in relevant decisionmaking processes, especially in malignant diseases. However, the extent to which information should be delivered is debated. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of providing systematic full access (SFA) to the medical record on anxiety, quality of life, and satisfaction. METHODS: Patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer, colon cancer, or lymphoma who had received adjuvant chemotherapy in an outpatient setting were included in a randomized controlled trial comparing those who requested access (RA) and those who provided SFA to the medical record. Anxiety was assessed using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory before, during, and at the end of treatment. Quality of life was evaluated using the European Organization for Research and Cancer quality-of-life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) before and at the end of treatment. Patients' satisfaction and perception of the organized medical record (OMR) were evaluated using a specifically designed questionnaire at the end of treatment. RESULTS: Most patients (98%) who had the opportunity to obtain the OMR chose to do so. Anxiety levels did not increase in the SFA arm, although they did not differ significantly compared with anxiety levels in the RA arm. The patients who had full access to their medical record were more satisfied with information (odds ratio, 1.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-2.9) and felt sufficiently informed more often (odds ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-3.19), but the differences were not statistically significant at the 5% level. CONCLUSIONS: Allowing full access to personal medical records increased satisfaction without increasing anxiety in patients with newly diagnosed cancer. Patients' autonomy and empowerment, which are now considered the ethical gold standard in industrialized countries, require access to information as a prerequisite.1-5 After a diagnosis of malignant disease, missing or insufficient information concerning the disease and its prognosis, the therapeutic options, and their side effects can significantly impair the patient's quality of life. There is evidence in the literature that the majority of cancer patients would like to receive as much information as possible from their physicians.5,6-11 Indeed, detailed information on the disease is important for the patient to make informed decisions regarding treatment options.5 It also allows the patient and his or her family to cope better with the disease and its implications.
8Information can be provided from physicians and medical staff to patients in different ways, but the most is verbal communication. However, the quality of this form of interaction is limited by the lack of time for a comprehensive discussion, semantic problems between physicians and patients, and the inability of the patient to recall all the information provided during a single visit. 12,13 It has been demonstrated that patients remember 50% to 60% of the inform...