"One of the keys to engagement is making people feel heard, and that their perspective, their goals, their objectives, their voice is a really meaningful addition to the conversation," says Patricia Hyle, who works alongside Leslie Kelly Hall at Healthwise, which develops health information, decision support and behavior change tools for heath plans and hospitals.

"A patient has to be considered an active and equal part of that care team," says Hyle. "Not just a passive person that we push information out to."

One thing seems clear: The days of patients being passive recipients of care are over.

"The intersection of new models of care, with an emphasis on keeping people healthy, and population health strategies, are really adding a dimension of urgency to patient engagement efforts," says Oldenburg.

"When you combine meaningful use Stage 2's patient-facing requirements with Medicare Shared Savings Program, patient-centered medical home or ACO requirements, the combination is truly driving additional attention to this space."

Data – on both the patient and provider sides – will be an essential driver, she says.

"One of the things that's emerging is that people are trying to figure out how to add both mobile and social dimensions to their patient engagement strategy, so it's not just sort of a traditional means of outreach," says Oldenburg.

Patient-generated health data is another interesting new wrinkle. "I agree we're going to have to pay attention to it, but I worry that it won't be as transformative as it has the opportunity to be," she says.

The only sure thing is that good engagement needs a multi-pronged approach.


"I'm a believer that one of the reasons we often fail is that we try one-off strategies," says Oldenburg. "Engagement is about a whole system. Everyone has to have a piece of the puzzle. It's got to be part staff, it's got to be part physician, it's got to be part caregiver, part community – and obviously it's got to be part patients.

"Too often," she adds, "care management is done to people rather than with people."

In her HIMSS book, Engage! Transforming Healthcare Through Digital Patient Engagement, Oldenburg spotlights many case studies where the right combination of giving and getting patient data has led to better outcomes.

From the physician in Canada who created a game for diabetic kids that increased their compliance, to the VA's OpenNotes pilot, which "found that people seeing their notes correlated with being more up-to-date with their preventive care," the lessons seem clear, she says: "Doing it with – not to – patients" is key to improved health.