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

Physician Adoption: Piggybacking on Current Behavior

I recently spoke at MEDSEEK's annual eHealth Client Congress and revealed that prior to working for MEDSEEK that I spent about five years as a drug dealer.  Yes, I was employed in the pharmaceutical industry and worked with physicians on a daily basis in New York City.  It was there that I first started to realize the issues that providers had with access to information - the need to collaborate and the importance of providing physicians efficiency.

Learn more about MEDSEEK's Virtual Clinical Experience for Physicians

In a recent meeting, Dan Ansel, CEO of Private Health News mentioned to me that during the early 2000's he had been working around physician education. He said that the pharmaceutical companies were offering primary care providers a desktop computer free of cost - with the understanding the physician would spend one hour of the week speaking with a company representative.  Fast forward the tape 18 months and the desktop was removed from each office.  Why?  The workflow and actions that the pharma companies were betting on didn't piggyback on an existing behavior for the physician.  EMR's were just being discussed and it "didn't make sense" for physicians to go to a computer during the day.

As I type I'm traveling to California to see six clients in three days. During this time I will be studying the physicians to see what they do prior to, during, and after each meeting.  One thing is for certain, they will all be checking their smartphones (Blackberry, iPhone, Droid) and/or iPads.  We need to recognize this in eHealth circles; we need to answer the call that physicians are making to hospitals and healthcare organizations.  They want real-time data, alerts and notifications to their hand-held devices, and a reduction in paper in the inbox to more productive and meaningful news and updates.

If we can start to piggyback on existing behavior - we have a much better opportunity in being successful and having long term loyalty for the providers that we serve.

Bradley Hawkins, Vice President Clinical Experience, MEDSEEK

October 6, 1995

On October 6, 1995 Presidential Savings Bank announced the availability of online banking. Other banks quickly followed their lead, and today some banks operate totally without four walls. How successful is the online banking industry? Almost 55 million families now turn to online banking as a way to manage money.

What does this have to do with healthcare? According to a recent online Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll, “despite years of hype around the issue, less than one in 10 American adults now utilize electronic medical records or turn to e-mail to contact their doctor.” The survey goes on to report, “patients' use of various electronic functions remains very low. Only 9 percent can communicate with their doctors by e-mail, up from 4 percent in 2006. Eight percent can schedule a doctor's visit online, up from 3 percent, and 8 percent can get diagnostic test results by e-mail, up from 2 percent in 2006.”

Most of those polled said they would like to access their physician and their medical records with the click of a mouse. “Overall, the general public only has a vague idea, only a very limited understanding, of what all this is about," reasoned Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll, a service of Harris Interactive. Sadly, nearly half of the respondents weren't even sure if their physician or hospital offered these technologies.

While we are in the middle of an IT revolution to meet Meaningful Use criteria, it appears healthcare organizations are still missing the opportunity to achieve one of the key drivers – to engage patients and their families.

Do you remember how you found out about online banking services? How did they communicate the new service? Did you receive marketing information about their offering? Did they describe how convenient  it would be? Were you told about the services while you were visiting the bank?

I’m reminded of a popular movie quote: “If you build they will come.” For online healthcare tools, the quote remains true. Healthcare consumers will come to your site to interact with your hospital. But only if they know the tools exist. What is your hospital doing to get the word out?

Click here to read the full Harris Interact report.

The Apple iPad and Healthcare

Last week’s announcement and introduction of the iPad certainly created a buzz. For those of us in this industry, the question becomes: “Is there a place for the iPad in healthcare?”  An interesting blog is raising this very question.  

I think the bigger dilemma is the lack of eHealth plans in hospitals that will be able to support and create applications using the Web. It is clear that other industries will develop applications for the iPad just like they did with the iPhone. Both Apple devices are platforms to allow consumers to remain connected wherever they are and to conduct research, chats, business or whatever else they want to do without having to be at any particular location. But to use iPad programs, healthcare organizations will need to allow applications to be developed, which will mean data sharing, security measures and more.

Just think, how many people do you know who no longer have phone land lines because they have a mobile device? Maybe you are one of those people. Think of all the daily functions that are performed on mobile devices daily. Now, think of all the things you can do to interact with your hospital on a mobile device. Not many came to mind, right? 

Then, think of all the interactions you can do with your laptop to interact with your hospital. Still can’t think of many, can you?

There is good news. With the HITECH Act and Meaningful Use requirements now in place, healthcare will be forced to make this huge leap into the world of technology and to continue developing ways to “Engage Patients and Families” with their own healthcare. 

The most successful healthcare organizations, however, will be the ones that look beyond the Meaningful Use checklist. Those organizations will understand that the components of the HITECH Act are only adding to an already wired world. Expanding broadband capabilities, implementing EHRs, PHRs, HIEs, and NHINs are just a few specific “e” projects hospitals are working on now. Engaging patients in their own healthcare will only take advantage of what consumers are already accustomed to… using a browser. 

Is the iPad just a reminder of what we can look forward to in healthcare during this decade? Or is it a reminder of how much farther hospitals have to go, to meet the demands of this decade’s Internet savvy consumer? 

To view the blog post “Apple iPad in Healthcare: Pros and Cons, visit http://scienceroll.com/2010/01/31/apple-ipad-in-healthcare-pros-and-cons/.

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.

eConnect Physician Portal Designated Category Leader in the Clinical Portal Market Segment of the 2008 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards

I was delighted to receive notification today that MEDSEEK’s clinical portal software, the eConnect Physician Portal, has been designated Category Leader in the Clinical Portal market segment of the 2008 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report. We know and understand that this recognition comes as a direct result of feedback that our clients have provided – and for this we are extremely grateful. We are privileged to work with a number of progressive and innovative healthcare organizations focused on the patient and physician experience, and we are honored to be recognized by both our clients and the KLAS organization.

KLAS, an independent healthcare IT vendor research firm, recognizes healthcare vendors for their leadership in working with customers to ensure satisfaction. The KLAS Category Leader ranking measures performance based on customer surveys and in-depth interviews and gauges insight into specific strengths, weaknesses and future expectations for companies and their products. This annual recognition assists medical facilities in providing an unbiased and accurate vehicle for measuring performance in the healthcare industry, allowing for further understanding of how well suppliers and products perform. We owe a debt of gratitude not only to our clients, but also to our employees without whom this honor would not be possible. Many thanks to all of you for your support. We couldn’t have done it without you!

To view the Best in KLAS and Category Leaders click here.

What do Patients Want?

The Commonwealth Fund has released the results of its 2008 Survey of Public Views of the U.S. Health Care System, conducted by Harris Interactive. According to a telephone survey of 1,004 random U.S. adults, 80 percent of respondents believe that the healthcare system needs either fundamental change or complete rebuilding.

MEDSEEK Leads in KLAS® for Clinical Portal Software Solution - MEDSEEK Leads KLAS ® Portals Segment as of August 22, 2008

MEDSEEK recently received the news... we are leading in KLAS® rankings for our Clinical Portal software solution.

reThinking eHealth Webinar Announced: Give the Providers What They Want

Birmingham, Ala.– July 21, 2008 –MEDSEEK, the leading provider of enterprise portal connectivity solutions, announced today that Dr. Asim Masood of William Osler Health Centre and Dr. Jay Wallin of Mount Carmel Health System will present a Webinar in the monthly educational series reThinking eHealth. The session, titled “Give the Providers What They What: Two physicians share ways their facilities have improved provider satisfaction,” will take place on Wednesday August 27th at 2pm EDT, 11am PDT.

Question: In Hospital-Physician Relationship Programs, How Critical Is an eCommunication Strategy?

The following article was recently published in the eHealthcare Strategy & Trends March 2008 edition. It is the first part of a two part article.

Mel Flesland, a Senior eHealth Specialist for MEDSEEK, contributed to the publication of this article and discussed the importance having of a physician portal strategy. Mel will also provide her insight as part of a panel presentation at MEDSEEK's upcoming eHealth Client Congress in May. She teamed up with MedStar Health in Lutherville, Maryland and Microsoft Corporation to launch HealthVault in conjunction with MEDSEEK's patient portal. Mel will present alongside Cindy Tanenbaum with MedStar Health and Dr. James Mault with Microsoft on Wednesday, May 7th at 1:45pm CDT at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.

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“Year of the Physician” Initiative Leads Adena Health System to Invest in Clinical and Patient Portal

Breaking down data silos and organizational barriers to ease burden on physicians and their patients