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 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

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

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

What Patients Expect… Transparency

For over 10 days the leading story in the press has been the  AIG executives and the millions of dollars of bonus money for which we, the taxpayers, are paying. We all want transparency in government, business and healthcare. The reports of the AIG fiasco hit the press lightning fast - media outlets, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, whether AIG wanted the story out or not.

All of us have experienced this digital world where we get instant information, conveniently displayed on our homepage of choice or streaming over our RSS feeds. For example. Tuesday March 17th was the last time the print version of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was available in print. The newspaper is now 100% digital. Our world and the way we access information - across all generations - has changed, and there is no going back.

Likewise, patients expect access to their medical information, conveniently displayed and available 24/7. They embrace self-service and, in fact, demand that hospitals provide it. Just like email replaced snail mail, the glass front door of the hospital has now been replaced with the glare of the terminal screen on our computers. The current discussion in hospitals is how to improve consumer Web sites or patient Web sites. They are reacting to the demands of their patients …give me a better experience.

Recently, eHealthcare Strategy and Trends interviewed Wayne Sensor, CEO of Alegent Health, and  Peter Kuhn, CEO of  MEDSEEK.  They were asked to describe “How do patient portals benefit the organization and the patients?”

Find out where and how transparency benefits consumers, patients and the organization and how the use of a patient portal gives patients the ability to view their medical information and participate in making informed healthcare decisions. Finally.

Click here to read the full interview.

eVisits Are Making A Difference

We have all read about the strong desire of patients to have online access. There are a number of studies and surveys available to support the argument that today's consumers not only want but expect the ability to have "self-service" in every area of their lives. Consumers can book a hotel reservation online, pinpoint particular seats on an airplane, pay utility bills and much more, yet hospital continue to fall behind.
 
By reading through the various articles related to the economic stimulus package, one can see that the provisions for healthcare are targeted towards enhancing the online experience. Adding the self-service component and providing an automated approach in the workflow of healthcare organizations will ultimately change the face of healthcare as we know it. (And isn't it about time?)
 
But the jury is still out in the healthcare community. Questions linger: If I implement a patient portal, will people register to use it? If I take the time to create an eVisit program, will patients take advantage of the service? Will physicians embrace it? Will insurance companies provide reimbursement?
 
After years of asking ourselves these same questions, researching, and discovering new and better ways to conduct virtual physician/patient interactions, the verdict is in.

Click here to read how MEDSEEK’s client Henry Ford Health System is using eVisits in conjunction with their patient portal to make a difference in their community.

Patient Portal Article by Peter Kuhn in Health Management Technology

The following article written by Peter Kuhn, president of MEDSEEK, appeared in Health Management Technology in October 2008. A PDF of the article is available on the MEDSEEK Web site - http://www.medseek.com.

The original article is available on the Health Management Technology site.

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