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

Consumers look to browsers to help keep them healthy

A new survey shows that individuals want to communicate with health insurers and physicians through electronic means for advice on improving health conditions and coordinating better health care with providers. The Microsoft Health Engagement Survey 2009 found that of the 1,002 participants in the survey, taken in March, 66% are interested in receiving health-related advice or reminder emails from their health insurance company and 52% would like emails containing feedback on their health progress.

Despite the self-help tools and Web sites that insurers offer, 49% of individuals feel their health plans support them only when they need a doctor, instead of helping them to stay well, according to the survey. Hospital executives should see this shortcoming as an opportunity to expand their market share by offering eHealth related services in preventive care such as hosting educational events, utilizing CRM systems, presenting health content using Web 2.0 applications, providing patient portals and creating disease management sites - to name just a few possibilities.

To read the full article and gain access to the survey follow this link:
www.healthcareitnews.com/news/consumers-want-technology-help-keep-them-healthy-survey-shows

Mobile Health Takes on a New Meaning

I need to take a moment to brag on one of our own. Garett Trumpower, our VP of Consulting here at MEDSEEK, is also a registered nurse.  In addition, his entire consulting team is made up of IT professionals who are also registered nurses and even his wife is currently studying to become a nurse! As I was busy working away on my computer, I got a message from Garett who was on his way to a client’s site and calling from his mobile phone;

 

“Well I still have it in me. :) One hour into my trip today, I hear the dreaded overhead calling for a doctor or nurse.  Seeing the flight attendants running up and down the aisle, I knew I had to ring the bell.  Next thing I know, I am being rushed from the comfort of the first-class seat I had been lucky enough to get as a free upgrade, to the back of the plane to find a person comatose, diaphoretic  and losing bladder control.  A doctor arrived before me, so I thought I was in the clear…. but not after she heard my background. After lifting a 200 pound plus person from the middle row onto the floor, I had to start oxygen and  then remove their clothes to get the AED activated. I must tell you …getting a B/P up in the air is near impossible!   I won’t bore you with the details, but just know it is also not nice landing hard in ORD when you are straddled in the aisle of the plane trying to keep someone stable.  It was touch-and-go for a few minutes, but the good news is, the person should be fine.”

 

Thank you for allowing me this time to share this story. Because when it comes down to it, all of this talk about health reform is about one thing “people helping people.”

 

Thanks Garett!!!

83% of internet users, 61% of adults look online for health information every week

To retain a competitive edge in their regions, hospital executives need to ensure that "e-patients" are able to go to their Web portals to find information and education. For the past decade the Pew Internet/California Healthcare Foundation has tracked the internet trends of healthcare consumers, which are now referred to as e-patients. This report is very informative, including data about where e-patients are going for their information online and for what the type of information they are searching.

 

"We are beginning to see e-patients turning to interactive features both to help them find information tailored to their needs and to post their own contributions," says Susannah Fox, a co-author of the report, and associate director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. "They treat the internet as a supplement to traditional sources of information, using blogs, podcasts, and other online resources to deepen their understanding of a condition and sharpen their questions for a health professional."

The new Pew Internet/California HealthCare Foundation report, "The Social Life of Health Information," describes not only how American adults use the internet to gather and share health information, but also how the landscape has shifted in the last decade. In 2000, 46% of American adults had access to the internet, 5% of U.S. households had broadband connections, and 25% of American adults looked online for health information. Now, 75% of American adults go online, 57% of American households have broadband connections, and 61% of adults look online for health information. Further, many adults now have wireless access to the internet.

To get a copy of the report follow this link:

 

www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/8-The-Social-Life-of-Health-Information

The Power of the Browser

Just like in 1776 with our Declaration of Independence, a new Web site is advocating a “Declaration of Health Data Rights.’ It states that we the people:

• Have the right to our own health data
• Have the right to know the source of each health data element
• Have the right to take possession of a complete copy of our individual health data, without delay, at minimal or no cost; if data exist in computable form, they must be made available in that form
• Have the right to share our health data with others as we see fit

Google Health, Microsoft, 23andMe, Dossia, the Personal Genome Project, and The Centre for Technology and Democracy are just a few of the organizations endorsing the Declaration.

Consumers have come to expect the level of service they receive from other industries - using the power of their browser to get information, conduct a transaction and take advantage of general communication tools to make everyday life easier. If I can get my online credit report (which includes private information and access to multiple systems), why is this is not the case with healthcare? I should be able to securely access my information from multiple systems and know that the information is specific to me, includes a complete overview of all available information and most importantly, is kept private.

Keep an eye out for many more grassroots movement to expand the capability of eHealth. Healthcare - it is time to join the 21st century.

Follow this link to for more information on the Declaration, www.healthdatarights.org.

How Meaningful is “Meaningful Use”?

We finally get an explanation of “Meaningful Use” on June 15th, then it’s pulled before the ink could even dry on my printed pages.

Was it pulled because it lacked information? Many are applauding the committee for listening to various groups in the healthcare industry, and keeping the definition simple. Remember this is the government and a specially formed committee working on this. Keeping anything uncomplicated is a challenge for them.

The issue really came down to timing, as most suspected would be the biggest challenge in the very beginning. So while the committee listened to some, they didn’t listen to others. Two years should be plenty of time to get an EHR and a CPOE system up and running, according to the committee. Implementing an EHR is tough enough, but executing a CPOE at the same time?

The question before them to consider: Is this plan overly aggressive? As I was told many years ago, “If it were that simple, I would have been done it already.” So if it is that simple, why don’t we already have these systems in place? I think I know the answer.

Joseph Conn has an interesting article in this month’s issue of Modern Healthcare that discusses the question of timing: “Under the Gun: Providers would have to jump through higher and higher hoops to qualify for IT payments the longer they wait.” Follow the link below to read the article.

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20090622/REG/906199981

What do Patients Expect?

“I want the computer to know who I am,” said a patient, according to a recent focus group conducted by Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and MIT. The study asked frequent Internet users from Boston, Tampa, Denver, and Portland, Maine “What do patients want from health technology?”

So, what do they want? They want healthcare technology to change their experiences just like the Internet has changed the user experience within other aspects of their lives.

To read the full article go to:      

http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2009/05/what_do_patient.html

Spectrum Health is creating multiple doors to their hospital

Spectrum Health is working toward “Destination Health,” its goal of becoming America’s highest quality and most successful healthcare enterprise by 2010. They not only are opening new doors to facilities but are opening electronic doors to improve the experience for the healthcare community. To read where they are doing this follow the link and see Spectrum listed under the “more virtual hospital tours” section.

http://www.healthcare-informatics.com

Two words that have changed health care forever…“Meaningful Use”

Until a few months ago I had never heard of, or even thought about, the words “meaningful use”. Maybe it’s because I just take some things for granted.

What does it mean to have meaningful use of something? For example, think of the telephone. There are hundreds of different manufacturers of phones. There are mobile phones with many added features and functions; there are office phone systems with lots of features and functions. Both types have no language barriers and can communicate country to country, without boundaries.

So how does the "meaningful use" concept apply to my phone? I can communicate with people using any type of phone, anywhere in the world. The key word as it applies to "meaningful use" of my phone? Communication.

What does meaningful use of information technology mean to me? As a respected friend and mentor once taught me, IT is valuable when...

• Data leads to information 
• Information leads to knowledge, and
• Knowledge leads to wisdom.

That is meaningful use.

I’ll make a bold assumption that at one point or another, someone in your hospital has said, “Why can’t I get the information I need from the system so I can make an informed decision?” The answer is simple: “The information resides in more than one system, and they do not communicate with each other.”

Could “meaningful use” as it applies to the HITECH Act then be considered the ability to access information? 

At the last HIMSS conference, during an HIE session, one person stood up and claimed, “I’m not concerned with an HIE connecting to the outside. I need an HIE that connects all my internal systems.” Is the answer to “meaningful use” that simple?

Hang on, let me call my colleague who has a Motorola Razor using my Apple iPhone, then we can conference in our friend who is sitting at his desk in London, and I’ll get back to you.

Ultimately, how you and I define meaningful use is irrelevant. What truly matters is how patients define it. What do patients want? In this month’s online issue of Healthcare Informatics, David Raths blogged on this very topic. “After reading through transcripts of the recent National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics hearing on trying to define "meaningful use" of health information technology, I was struck by several comments that focused on patient access to information as a central component of meaningful use,” he states. Does this mean that simply having an HIE strategy isn’t enough?

Click here to read the full blog post “Does Meaningful Use = Patient Portal?” While you’re there, be sure to check out the insightful article about the return on investment for patient portals, in the Healthcare Informatics May issue: “Footing the Bill: Patient Portals, Part I.”

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.