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

The Doctor is Online and Will See You Now

Virtual doctor visits continue to gain popularity, according to a recent article that appeared in U.S. News and World Report. Finally, healthcare is beginning to deliver on the Web savvy ePatient’s expectations. ePatients continue to tell the healthcare industry that they want  convenience and access to their healthcare providers and information via the Internet. According to this article, the healthcare industry is beginning to react – rapidly.

Recently, the “Consumers Access Survey” by Price Waterhouse Cooper revealed that nearly 80% of all individuals surveyed want access to Internet consultations. The questions surrounding the success of eVisits or eConsultations have always been about adoption and payment. This article provides insight into both of these issues - with results from health systems that have already been successful implementing virtual doctor visits.  What was once considered “bleeding edge technology” will soon become a standard practice within healthcare.

To learn more, read the full article.

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.

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.

A new virtual door opens

We live in an internet world where we visit Web sites that range from painful to look at and navigate – to easy to use and beautiful to see. In the September issue of eHealthcare Strategy & Trends, Mark Goldberg reviewed a new site, www.devoschildrens.org.

He provides the following comments on the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital site:

“A pleasure to view”
“Navigational links … greatly aids navigation”
“Nothing childish about the site”
Very well designed for their target audience”

MEDSEEK was pleased to be part of the development process with our client and their agency to launch this site. To read the full article, click here. And be sure to check out the site for yourself. I recommend visiting the Should I call the doctor? section and the Fact Sheet.

The Information Age has passed the healthcare industry by… but not for long

If you read the preamble as described in  “Meaningful Use: A Definition - Recommendations from the Meaningful Use Workgroup to the Health IT Policy Committee” created June 16, 2009, it states,

 

“In 2008, the National Priorities Partnership, convened by the National Quality Forum (NQF), released a report entitled ‘National Priorities and Goals’ which identified a set of national priorities to help focus performance improvement efforts. Among these priorities were patient engagement, reduction of racial disparities, improved safety, increased efficiency, coordination of care, and improved population health. These priorities were used to create the framework for ‘meaningful use’ of an electronic health record. An additional area related to privacy and security has also been included to emphasize the importance of preserving patient protections and ensuring patient trust in the use of electronic health records.”

 

The patient in today’s Internet connected world has become an ePatient. While the health industry struggled with the concept of a virtual consumer, other industries did not. Hospital executives and physicians have grown accustomed to using Web portals, participating in social networking sites, paying bills online, scheduling flights and appointments and registering for events and services. More than likely, they now use a debit card more frequently than cash. Yet, some executives report that they do not use their own hospital Web site for scheduling an appointment online because it is too difficult or isn’t convenient.

Guess what?

Their current and future patients are saying the same thing.

 

‘Meaningful Use’ has changed all of this. Information technology, specifically eHealth online services, will soon become “the norm.” The sooner the industry begins to provide convenience and access to health services utilizing online tools (what almost every other industry has done) - the better we all will be.

 

To illustrate what is happening and willhappen, read the insightful article in this month’s issue of HealthLeaders.

To read the complete article follow the link.

 

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/238742/page/1/topic/WS_HLM2_MAG/The-Patient-of-the-Future.html

Content Management System Myths

What can hospital executives learn from other industries about their Web site? Many look to David Aponovich for advice. David is a CMS Strategist at ISITE Design, a national CMS and Web strategy consulting firm and a blogger for The CMS Myth. David shares his valuable insight and show us what we can do to avoid the traps.
 
David also discusses the importance of a Web site, not only as a marketing project but as an overall organizational strategy with a high level of priority.

To read the complete story, follow the link:
 
www.fiercecontentmanagement.com/story/one-one-david-aponovich-cms-myth/2009-07-15

How many hospitals will meet the definition of “Meaningful Use” by 2011?

HIMSS conducted a survey in June 2009 asking questions related to how many hospitals will be able to satisfy the requirements of “Meaningful Use” by the beginning of 2011. Respondents were not optimistic that a high percent of hospitals will be able to meet the measures of meaningful use as outlined by FY11. Nearly three-quarters of respondents indicated that less than one-quarter of U.S. hospitals will be able to meet ALL metrics by FY11. What do you think?

Follow the link to see a copy of the full survey

http://www.himss.org/content/files/vantagepoint/vantagepoint_200906.asp

Is The Government Really That Smart?

We have all seen the impact of the HITECH Act with hospitals scrambling to get EHRs and HIEs off the ground, and then be able to show “meaningful use.” But let’s face it, is the government so forward thinking that this “Healthcare Revolution” is because of the wisdom of the senate, congress, committees, agencies and staff members? Remember these are the same folks who still are trying to get digital TV converted in every household.

To understand how the government is making decisions, let’s travel back in time. Remember the presidential campaign? Where did the candidates turn to for advice? Who did they ask to find out “what the people wanted?” Who was the sage? Who was the leading authority? It was “Joe the Plumber.” Joe represented hardworking, honest Americans everywhere. Everyone - democrats, republicans, political satirists and of course the media - wanted to know “What is on Joe’s mind?” Politicians go to town hall meetings to hear from the people about their issues, their concerns and base their political platforms on what the common American wants.

What does all of this have to do with the HITECH Act you ask? Consumers and patients are not just concerned with an EHR. They want more. Deloitte recently posted their 2009 Survey of Health Care Consumers: Key Findings, Strategic Implications. The implications pose serious questions to the healthcare industry as it gears up to meet the demands of today’s consumer. It is clear that consumers and patients alike expect more from eHealth technologies and services. Many hospitals are still in the 20th century when it comes to meeting the expectations of today’s savvy consumer. Online bill pay is often seen as “gee whiz” technology to a hospital, but to a consumer this is expected. We are totally immersed in world changed forever by the Internet, and hospitals that are slow to adapt will lose patients more and more every day to their competitors.

One C-level executive shared with me that he never uses his hospital’s Website because it was too difficult to find what he was looking for. Here is the question I pose to you: When is the last time you took a look at your own site, tried to schedule an appointment, attempted to contact your physician via email or any of the  other things consumers are asking for? Maybe it is time to listen to “Joe the Patient” when deciding on what projects to focus on next in your organization.

To read the complete Deloitte survey, click here.

What comes first EHR or HIE?

All of us in healthcare are watching, asking questions and attempting to come up with a plan to maximize the benefits of the HITECH Act. At the  HIMSS conference this week in Chicago there are eleven sessions devoted to this topic. As expected, thus far it has been the central theme of attendees and vendors alike.
 
We know  the problems we have been faced with in the past and in the immediate future. It has been enhancing the experience for patients, consumers, physicians, clinicians, health professionals and the healthcare community at large. We have seen the growth of social networking, health 2.0, consumerism and survey after survey where the using the internet for healthcare information and utlizing eHealth is not a fad but an expectation.
 
Going back to the old adage ‘Information is king,” access is not the issue; providing specific information in a meaningful way is paramount. Interoperability remains the means to this end.
 
HITECH is bringing this to the forefront of what is facing us today. Do I push forward on a EHR implementation or an HIE/RHIO, data aggregation implementation? What comes first: the chicken or the egg? Is it EHR or HIE?
 
To offer our insight to these questions as well as acting as an information portal, MEDSEEK has launched www.MEDSEEK.com/HIE to assist hospital executives in formulating their plans for HITECH.
 
If you are attending HIMSS in Chicago, please stop by booth 1238 and visit with us to find out more.

Why aren’t more EHR’s connected to Hospitals?

A recent iHealthBeat article summarizes the problem as “For hospitals subsidizing physician office electronic health records (EHRs), the stakes are high and failure is not uncommon.