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 criteria of Meaningful Use, part of the requirements of the HITECH Act, is to connect to a Health Information Exchange(HIE). The question is, will your state have an HIE ready by 2011? On August 20th Joe Biden, United States Vice President, announced in a press release that additional funding will be provided to states to support in the development of HIEs with the ultimate goal of developing a national network.

MEDSEEK’s Brad Hawkins, Vice President - Clinical Experience, was interviewed regarding the implementations of HIEs in the August edition of the eHealth Strategy and Trends newsletter for their series “Ask An Expert.” In the article, Brad provides an insightful look at building an internal HIE inside the four walls of a  hospital and then what it takes to build a regional HIE, the building blocks to establishing a true exchange of health information within a state and then across the nation.

So how far along is your hospital/region/state in the process?

To read the full article follow this link.

When you are looking for reviews on cars, electronics, appliances or other consumer products, what is a source of truth? Consumer Reports, of course. But is this where you would go to check out a hospital? Now you can.

This is a huge shift for the organization. Why would a trusted publication spend the time, effort and finances to launch a new offering? Because the consumer demands it. 

What will they publish? Patient satisfaction ratings, review of hospitals, inside information.

ePatients are here and they want access to health information. They come armed with only a browser and a keyboard. What will they find when they visit your website? What will they say about their experience in hospital?

To find out more, visit www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.

This week we have a special guest, Gale Wilson-Steele, MEDSEEK’s founder. Gale has and continues to be active in improving the delivery of healthcare information to all Americans. We are very proud of her accomplishments and honored to have her voice heard at the AHRQ.

So Gale what was it like?

“Have you ever wondered how the government comes up with the proposals and policies that drive our nation’s laws, spending and practices?  It does not happen in a vacuum behind the beltway, as I learned at the Building Bridges Workshop that I attended last week at the invitation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality(AHRQ).This arm of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, gathered together 20 researchers, policy thinkers and industry leaders to help determine the best ways to engage consumers in their personal health information management (PHIM).  We broke into work groups, offered our experience and expertise, and then argued and collaborated until reams of notes, hours of taped conversations and dozens of slides of distilled thought were offered for further compilation into recommendations to the AHRQ.  How rewarding to bring the voice of MEDSEEK and our customers into the process of defining the future of PHIM!”

Gale Wilson-Steele
Founder/Chief Strategy Officer
MEDSEEK

In their series of special reports entitled “Fixing Health Care,” CNNMoney.com asks the question: With the target date for the stimulus plan's electronic health record program just 5 years off, is digital health possible? In the interview, three health care providers' stories reveal that hospitals may have a difficult road ahead.

David Goodman conducted interviews with key contacts at three hospitals that have undergone enormous efforts to make digital health a reality and he finds out what advice they can offer to others working on their HIE initiatives. In the article Gary Bowers describes the Western North Carolina Network (WNC) where MEDSEEK connected 16 hospitals across the region. Gary explains what he believes is in store for other states as they begin to take on the project.

To read the article on CNNMoney follow this link.

To find out more about the WNC project and to learn how 16 independent hospitals jointly save $1.4 million annually, read the case study or watch the video.

And to learn what you can do to get started on your health information exchange in order to meet the government’s new “meaningful use” standards and HITECH initiatives, visit www.medseek.com/hie.

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

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

Recently a notice in the Federal Register describes a proposed project called “Facts for Consumers about Health IT Service for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology” (ONC).  The abstract says in part: “A new health information technology, the personal health record (PHR), seeks to provide consumers with the capability to directly manage their own health information. Although PHRs can exist in different formats or media (i.e., paper or electronic), the term usually refers to an online record containing an individual's personal health information. PHRs typically include information such as health history, vaccinations, allergies, test results and prescription information. Given the newness of the electronic PHR concept, the different ways to establish PHRs and the sensitivity of personal health information, ONC is taking steps to establish that useful facts about PHRs and PHR privacy policy information be made available to consumers so they can make informed decisions about selecting and using PHRs. Toward this end, ONC has a project to develop an online model for PHR providers…”

We have already seen that within the definition of “Meaningful Use” EHRs are a part of the plan, but did you know PHRs are as well? With the notice in the Federal Register, the government is taking steps to develop a Website to inform consumers of choice and education related to what is available. This serves as a call to hospital executives to begin thinking about incorporating a PHR strategy as they develop their upcoming plans.

Follow the link to read the complete notice in the Federal Register:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-12023.htm