Libby Dowdall, Communications Coordinator, Project HealthDesign National Program Office
Head over to InformationWeek today to read “Is 2012 the year of online patients?,” which features insights from Project HealthDesign Director Patricia Flatley Brennan, Ph.D., R.N. In the article, Marianne Kolbasuk McGee explores what 2012 might hold for patient engagement in health care. She also interviewed Missy Krasner, a former Google Health executive. Read an excerpt below, or visit InformationWeek to read more.
“… doctors will have to convince patients to get more involved in their own healthcare--including using their own data to keep better tabs on their illnesses. In fact, payments tied to better patient outcomes--helped by smarter use of patient data-- is a big driver for more healthcare providers to participate in patient engagement initiatives, Brennan said.
Yet, with so much on doctors' plates as it is—"most doctors don't want a tsunami of new data" added to EHR and other systems from their patients' home health monitoring or wellness devices, said Brennan. That's especially true since most of this data doesn't warrant emergency care.
However, when there is an issue that requires immediate attention, Project HealthDesign teams have found that patients' monitoring data can be successfully sent to or shared with other clinicians, such as triage nurses or case managers, who can often help facilitate earlier intervention, or give feedback to patients without overwhelming doctors.”
