Zeida Quinterro-Canetti took on a new role at the Mount Sinai Health System in May, when she began helping native Spanish-speaking patients translate the notes of their outpatient medical providers that are written in English. The notes are filed in each patient’s MyMountSinaiChart account.
The initiative, called “OpenNotes,” is part of a national movement to make medical office visit information more transparent to patients by enabling them to read the notes written by their doctors. Mount Sinai began piloting OpenNotes in English at the end of 2015 and is recognized as the first health system in New York State to offer it in English and Spanish.
Recently, Zeida, a Clinical Research Coordinator with the Department of Population Health Science and Policy, translated notes for Irolando Carpio, a longtime patient at The Mount Sinai Hospital, whose knowledge of English is limited. Irolando says that having his doctors’ progress notes available to him in Spanish is advantageous, “since I easily forget what my providers and I discussed the day of the visit.” He says his ability to understand the notes helps him better understand and control his health.
“It has been incredible to see how appreciative patients are of the OpenNotes program,” Zeida says. Since May, she has helped translate notes for more than 130 patients.
To schedule a confidential OpenNotes session with Zeida, call 212-824-7808 or email: zeida.quintero-canetti@mssm.edu.
Irolando Carpio and Zeida Quinterro-Canetti