Ever since the concept of the electronic health record (EHR) program made its way into our modern healthcare system, the term “patient engagement” has grown right alongside it. It doesn’t make sense to have one without the other.
Patient engagement involves building a system that allows a patient to manage his or her own health. People like having access to the information they need to make an informed decision over their own health issues. And when they are more engaged, they have a more favorable outcome.
A study performed by Kaiser Permanente showed that when given the opportunity, 70 percent of eligible members signed up for a health manager. And when the patient engaged, they were more likely to take an active role in their healthcare, and have more satisfaction with the medical practice as a whole.
One of the most common ways for medical practices to offer patient engagement technology is through the use of a patient portal. Patient portals offer a variety of functions including:
- Appointment management
- Bill pay
- Prescription refills
- Messaging staff and providers
- Viewing medical information, including lab results and health summaries
- Plan information
- Patient education
- Patient monitoring devices and support
The problems start with how all of this data is collected and presented to the end user. It’s not that we have a lack of data; it’s about how the data is analyzed for real-time use.
As a physician, you see dozens of patients every week. When one enters your exam room, you spend a few minutes analyzing and listening to your patient. You may have quick access to the records you’ve created right there in your own facility, but what about all of the other practices your patient has visited? It can be difficult at best tracking down information that pertains to a proper diagnosis. Patients don’t always recollect everything that matters most.
And what if you notice that a portion of your patient’s record is missing, yet you know for a fact they’ve been screened or taken a test? How well will you trust the data if you know it isn’t accurate?
For proper engagement, quality data is essential. And that comes from having every piece of the IT puzzle working correctly, and working together.
This allows the medical staff to focus in on what they need to make a proper diagnosis, while giving the patient a fuller, richer life. That’s really the ultimate goal.
For IT Strategy, Cloud Conversion, or Help Desk Services reach out to us at Silver Linings Technology 360-450-4759.
