In The Know - MEDSEEK News and Expert Opinion on the eHealth Industry

My knee hurts, what does the Internet advise?

More and more people are turning to the Internet to get medical information. In fact eight in 10 Internet users look online for information about health topics, according to Pew Internet & American Life Project, which tracks the social impact of the Internet. In a recent Pittsburg Tribune-Review article, Craig Smith interviewed an “ePatient” who reported that when the pain in her knee continued even after surgery for an old running injury, Sarah McCluan turned to the Internet for help. "I don't use it to diagnose myself, but I do go to the Internet for basic information," said McCluan, who downloaded some knee strengthening exercises that she is following.

The ePatient has arrived.

The "e" stands for more than electronic; it means "equipped, enabled, empowered and engaged," said Susannah Fox, the associate director of digital strategy at Pew. The ePatient has been traditionally viewed as The Acute, a patient currently undergoing treatment, but this only represents about 6% of the ePatient population. The Well, which makes up 60% of ePatients, are like Sarah, they are looking for health content online but rarely end up on a hospital’s Web site. This is not because health content on hospital sites does not exist; rather it’s because when Sarah searches for information on her question, symptom or condition, the hospital Web site does not appear in her search engine results. The remaining 34% of the ePatient population, The Chronic, will be growing quickly with the aging of the boomer generation, and will also looking to the Internet for information on their health condition and treatment options.

Healthcare reform is currently in front of the Senate for debate, but for the ePatient change in healthcare is already here - the power of the search on their browser. Hospitals should begin now to include in their strategies to incorporate the needs of the ePatient beyond The Acute and pursue the remaining 94% of the ePatient population that has been consistently ignored.

Click here to read the entire ePatient interview conducted by Craig Smith.

How does William Osler Health Centre increase physician satisfaction, strengthen hospital/physician communication and save physicians time?

Physician dissatisfaction can be linked back to dissatisfied patients, lower levels of compliance with clinical protocols, disengaged nurses who are at-risk for defection, negative word of mouth and declining admissions, as reported according to Press Ganey in their report “Predicting Physician Loyalty: The New Science of Physician Relationships.”

But what if physicians were satisfied? And what would it take to increase their satisfaction?
Dr. Asim Masood, the deputy chief of staff at William Osler Health Centre in Ontario, Canada, took an innovative approach to bridging the communication and productivity gap in the hospital - starting with the physician’s viewpoint. He then communicated the needs of the physicians to IT, and worked closely with IT to develop and deliver an innovative solution to an age old problem. Together, the team at Osler implemented a strategy using eHealth technology that saved physicians time, increased productivity and ultimately increased physician satisfaction.

Want to know how they did it? Click here to read the full article that appears in this month’s issue of ADVANCE for Healthcare Information Executives.

The Impact of ePatients on Service Line Revenues

Just this week, I came across a presentation given by Lee Rainie at the Medical Library Association’s annual conference at the beginning of October. In his presentation, titled “The rise of the e-Patient,” Rainie describes myriad ways in which ePatients research health topics using the Internet. He also highlighted the upsurge in ePatients’ utilization of Web 2.0 tools including the sharing of healthcare information by writing and commenting on blogs, joining social networking sites and interacting with various other forms of social media. In 2009, using the Internet:

• 47% of adults have now retrieved information about doctors or other health professionals
• 38% sought information about hospitals or other medical facilities
• 33% researched how to lose or control their weight
• 27% got answers to questions about health insurance
• 12% learned how to stay healthy on an overseas trip

Unfortunately, it appears that the growing impact of the ePatient still tends to be mostly ignored when hospitals formulate their strategies to grow service line revenues. To maximize growth potential and return on service line revenue, hospital executives need to be keenly aware of the usage patterns of the growing ePatient population and incorporate appropriately aligned eHealth strategies into their service line tactics. Hospitals should look to their consumer Web site and patient portals as ways to assist in gaining market share. To gain a competitive advantage, service line marketing strategies must reflect the behaviors of the ePatient. In this digital age of DVRs and satellite radio, executives must be cognizant that ePatients are spending far more time on the Internet than they are watching television or listening to the radio. Where are the marketing dollars going?

To view Lee Rainie’s presentation go to: www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2009/40-The-rise-of-the-e-patient.aspx.