Health IT and Consumer Engagement

I was in an Apple store a few weeks ago, and I am trying to decide if I saw RED or ‘the future’ as I helped my son pick out an accessory for his device of choice. Some 300 people were gathered around talking up a storm about the latest APPs, and the cash registers had been replaced by roaming staff with bar code scanners and credit card readers. Everything was high-tech and consumer-driven.

My “seeing RED” moment was that all these people were making demands about communications technology, but very few would think to demand access to a provider with an electronic health record. On the other hand, I probably was seeing the future because these high-tech consumers are (eventually) going to demand that their healthcare technology catch up to the rest of their lives.

What type of federal regulations should be required to successfully launch such a dramatic change in behavior that engages the consumer?

In trying to answer the question, I am reminded of a section of Thomas Friedman’s book, Hot, Flat and Crowded, where he recounts conversations with leaders of the energy production sector. The leaders were stating that the federal government needed to provide the standards and requirements roadmap to their community, and the community would innovate to deliver on the requirements.

That is exactly what is playing out in the health IT community. Through last year’s HITECH provisions of ARRA and the regulations associated with Meaningful Use, Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services have identified the first stage of a nationwide roadmap for health IT. By moving eligible professionals and hospitals toward being meaningful users, we are well on our way to engaging consumers in the healthcare transformation.

Now, we have to make sure efforts to expand the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) to a more consumer-friendly initiative takes advantage of the lessons and milestones from the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), and other efforts to improve the healthcare experience. Consumers will gravitate toward providers who have products that are based in harmonized standards that lend themselves to successful integration.

What is your experience with the evolving NHIN and all the requirements for its various components?
How can HIMSS leverage our resources on the HIMSS Economic Stimulus page to engage the consumer in a Meaningful Use transformation?

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6 Responses to Health IT and Consumer Engagement

Wellescent Health Blog says:

August 25, 2010 at 4:40 pm

I am not convinced that consumers are looking for standards as much as features and simplicity. They won’t care how data is stored or how efficiently this data can be transferred, just that they can get at it easily and when they want it. jason.kania@rogers.com

- Tom Leary says:
  
  September 8, 2010 at 11:14 am
  
  Jason,
  
  Thanks for the post. You are right. I didn’t mean to imply that consumers will get caught up in the standards development loop. They want simplicity, and they want to know something will work. Start the engine, engage the transmission, step on the gas, watch out for people and other objects has worked for the automobile industry for 100 years without a lot of consumers knowing how or why. Healthcare information exchange and the associated outcomes improvements need to get to that level of simplicity. However, I do believe that once consumers REALLY pay attention to the fact that they don’t have to satisfied with the way healthcare has “always” been delivered, then we’ll see a dramatic leap forward in provider adoption and consumer involvement. Thanks again for the thoughtful post.
  
John Sharp says:

August 30, 2010 at 11:34 am

I agree with the idea that consumers want and need an intuitive interface that is device agnostic. The model here is Facebook on the iPhone. Easy to use and part of everyday interaction. In the past, online banking was the model for EHRs and PHRs, secure and relatively convenient. Consumer demand is now shifting to apps-based interaction.

- Tom Leary says:
  
  September 8, 2010 at 11:17 am
  
  John,
  
  Thanks for the post and your comments. It is interesting to observe where consumer demands can/will make the market.
  
Nick Lloyd says:

September 8, 2010 at 9:40 am

What an interesting and compelling post. Yet ultimately, when healthcare organizations consider the steps needed to improve the patient experience, they face a business decision.
Here’s an interesting and compelling article by Cleveland Clinic Chief Experience Officer Dr. James Merlino that lays out the business case for the patient experience. It’s called “The Patient Experience: Why Top Hospitals Should Care.”

http://engagingthepatient.com/2010/09/07/the-patient-experience-why-top-hospitals-should-care/

- Tom Leary says:
  
  September 8, 2010 at 11:08 am
  
  Nick,
  
  Thanks for the comment and the link to the article from engagingthepatient.com. I’m going to share it with colleagues and my doctors. Interestingly enough, that same son I reference in my post had a doctor appointment the other day, and we had to do a lot of guess work on his last checkup and results. Should have been something that the clinician could access. Instead, we suffered through a memory game, which normally I don’t mind (History/Poli Sci majors love to reconstruct the past). Given the fact that the memory game had direct implications on the clinician’s diagnosis, I was less than enthusiastic that the office didn’t already have access to the information. The day is coming when the information will be available more readily. I truly can’t wait for us to get there!