As medical facilities continue shifting to a digital infrastructure, new possibilities and challenges are emerging for patient engagement. Sterling Lanier recently shared “5 points concerning patient engagement and health IT” with Healthcare IT News. Engaging patients can help medical facilities offer better treatment support, empower patients to take a more active role in their healthcare, provide an opportunity for facilities to announce additional services to patients, and record outcome data.
Unfortunately, engaging with patients faces some obstacles since many facilities need to adapt their tools to make them more patient friendly. “You have medical forms and medical jargon built for the provider benefit and not the patient,” Lanier said. “It’s confusing, tedious, and full of acronyms – it’s an alphabet soup. Patients feel lost. We want to make healthcare work for patients, and the closer we can get to a more accurate view of patient data, we’re better set up to change the way the model works and how people think about the model.” Here are five key ideas Lanier offers to help facilities designing/implementing EHR systems think more about patient engagement.
1. Facilities have not typically focused on patient engagement.
Lanier emphasizes that healthcare system fails to start with patient services and works its way out, instead it starts with billing and reimbursement. If other businesses were run that way, they would go out of business. Lanier says that he see a shift happening in the medical field now from outward-in to an inward-out model focused on the patient. Healthcare is gradually becoming more concerned about delivering a quality consumer product.
2. Simpler design is a step toward greater patient engagement.
Doctors engagement patients for about 10 minutes in an hour-long visit. Technology offers a possibility for greater engagement while the patient is at the facility and after they leave the facility. The challenge is designing tools in tablets, smartphones and website in a simple design that connects with patients and can communicate effectively with lower-income and non-English speaking patients.
3. Facilities can drive efficiency through patient engagement.
As facilities begin to support patient engagement, more possibilities emerge. Digital patient intake forms, Lanier suggests are just “the tip of the iceberg.” The goal is to “make sure the right people have the right care at the right time.” If patients have access to helpful information and can submit input including their own outcomes, Lanier believes this can drive efficiency, and have a positive impact on clinical outcomes and reimbursements.
4. Developing system-wide engagement.
Lanier’s discussion of patient engagement introduces the possibility for expanding to thing about engagement across all stakeholders. By focusing on simplifying the input and interactive process possibilities for engagement and adoption can expand throughout the organization. Expanding the breadth and depth of data sources opens possibilities for improving process, customer service, overall care, management and more.
5. Integrating with workflow increases engagement.
Developing and implementing a plan that integrates with physician workflows simplifies adoption, increasing the likelihood of system wide support. For Lanier this includes paying attention to both the needs of the physician and the patient. In the long run, organizations that shifting from an inside out organization to an outward in, can drive efficiency while improving patient support.
