EHRs, hospitals and apps are working to better engage patients with their healthcare providers. There has been an uptick in developing tech, and studies about why it matters. Here are a few of the latest integration tools providers are offering to connect patients and doctors as well as a look at what's on the horizon.
Advance to the next slide to begin the gallery.
Borgess Health employed an array of intensive patient engagement strategies, letting the data lead the way and led to cuts in uncontrolled diabetes by 29 percent in less than 90 days.
Smartphones for self-managing depression can help certain patients but there are considerations doctors and hospitals should understand from the onset, research suggests.
The American Hospital Association found consumers are increasingly requesting better access, on-demand services and when those are not available, they will seek care elsewhere. Tools like telemedicine and virtual consults can help make care more convenient and efficient and the AHA and AVIA ranked the top 5 areas hospitals are innovating to encourage higher patient engagement.
EHR vendor Epic Systems has added Mayo’s symptom checker functionality into Epic’s MyChart portal to assess common ailments, such as dizziness, swelling, anxiety, migraine, cold or flu. Mayo’s symptom checker is driven by algorithms based on data that users enter. It runs 36 algorithms that cover more than 300 common symptoms.
The integration between Doximity Dialer and Epic's Haiku makes it possible for doctors to access patient records and communicate with patients from their mobile phones without exposing their personal phone number.
Allina said that its patients can now log into a portal to view not just those notes but also doctor’s instructions and next steps as well as prescriptions and orders. They will also be able to send messages to their care teams and participate in eVisits from computers, tablets or phones.
Fruit Street Health will deliver the CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program through classes by live video feed. Patients are equipped with a Fitbit, wireless scale, and mobile app with feedback provided by a lifestyle coach in addition to the video classes.
Healthgrades CareChats is a digital health system that provides hospitals and caregivers a chatbot conversational experience to help enrolled patients with their condition management, provide encouragement and education between face-to-face visits.
All patients have to say is: “Alexa, open Mayo First-Aid.” From there, they can access first-aid topics, including care instructions and quick answers concerning common mishaps. In making its first aid skill available, Mayo is joining a growing base of health-related options, including fitness-centric ones, such as Fitbit and workout offerings.
Blockchain could be part of the future in patient engagement. By giving patients control over their data, blockchain could enable better privacy protections, more efficiency and easier information exchange. If deployed wisely, the technology could underpin an array of new innovations that could help reduce costs as well.
Human-centered design expert shares 4 tips for engaging patients - research, look outside healthcare for inspiration and involve patients in the development process.
