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Ignore Patient Engagement (and Consumer Reviews) at Your Own Peril

I know several readers of this blog (if not dozens) don’t pay much attention to the world of consumer healthcare reviews. Some seem to think they are populated only by the disgruntled few, and don’t paint a fair picture of providers’ true abilities. Some are of the opinion that too few patients utilize physician review sites (positively or negatively), and don’t present a large enough sample size for reviews to be meaningful. But, like social networks, those that read them are often far greater than those that actively contribute to them, as a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers points out.

“Scoring Healthcare: Navigating customer experience ratings” points that though only 24 percent of those surveyed have left online reviews, 48 percent have read them. The report also points out that, “Among those who have read healthcare reviews, 68 percent said they have used the information to select a doctor, hospital and to a lesser extent, a health plan, pharmacy and drug or medical device.”

PwC’s U.S. Health Industries Leader Kelly Barnes sums up my biggest takeaway nicely: “As consumerism in healthcare gains steam, customer feedback has become a determining factor in the success of health organizations. Ratings connect consumers’ experience to quality, and quality connects to financial performance, market share and reputation.”

Say what you will about sites like Healthgrades, Yelp, Consumer Reports or Facebook, they are becoming powerful consumer engagement tools, and giving them short shrift will not win providers any points in the countdown to Stage 2 of Meaningful Use. (October 1 is just over 170 days away, in case you were wondering.)

It’s interesting to note in light of the PwC report that the new Patient Engagement Index from Axial Exchange bases 25 percent of a hospital’s score on its social engagement, which includes its ratings on consumer review sites.

What I’d like to know from providers is:

  •  Are you starting to pay more attention to consumer reviews?
  • If so, how are they affecting your overall patient engagement strategy?
  • If not, why? What other baskets are you placing your patient engagement eggs in?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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April 12, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: EMR  Healthcare  Healthcare IT  Meaningful Use
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Post-HIMSS13 Discussion — #HITsm Chat Highlights

#HITsm T1: What takeaways from #HIMSS13 can we apply to the challenge of improving #patientengagement?

 

 

#HITsm T2. Best chance at driving #interoperability: A vendor initiative like CommonWell or a community initiative like TheCUREProject?

 

 

#HITsm T3: The recent eHI report notes that most advanced HIEs get revenue from a single source. How can this model be changed?

 

 

#HITsm T4: Now that #HIMSSanity is over, what’s the next major #healthIT conference on your calendar? Why?

 

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March 16, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Healthcare IT  Healthcare Social Media  HIPAA  Hospitals
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ONC Encourages Emergence Of E-Patients

Throughout the Meaningful Use rollout, there’s been discussion of how to best use all of these new health IT toys to get patients more engaged in their care.  But as far as I know, the following is the first time ONC has officially launched an initiative to cultivate the emergence of health IT-smart e-patients.

In a new article in Health Affairs, ONC national coordinator for  health IT Farzad Mostashari has shared plans to use health IT to reach patients and encourage their involvement with their care. The ONC is already working with 17 Beacon communities to test ideas such as text-messaging for diabetes risk assessment, but the idea now is to expand things to much higher level.

ONC now hopes to encourage patients to participate in e-patient activities such as secure e-mail messaging with doctors, use of EMRs that patients can add to and transmit, as well as use of mobile health apps for chronic disease monitoring and wellness promotion, reports Politico.com.

I’m excited to see ONC jump on this bandwagon enthusiastically. While there is an e-patient movement afoot, and a growing list of doctors interested in “participatory medicine,” it’s unlikely that the run-of-the-mill patient with few self-advocacy or technical skills would get involved on their own.

And the truth is, if ONC truly wants to build a nation of engaged patients, Meaningful Use requirements are too modest by far. Sure, there’s new requirements afoot that will make it easier for patients to e-mail doctors and transmit their health information, and that’s fine. But the truth is that few patients will take advantage of these features without a great degree of encouragement.

As something of an e-patient myself, I’m eager to see the movement blossom, as I believe it’s good for both the clinician and ordinary citizens receiving medical care. Let’s see how much effort Dr. Mostashari and his team put into cultivating patient engagement.

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February 15, 2013 I Written By

Anne Zieger is veteran healthcare consultant and analyst with 20 years of industry experience. Zieger formerly served as editor-in-chief of FierceHealthcare.com and her commentaries have appeared in dozens of international business publications, including Forbes, Business Week and Information Week. She has also contributed content to hundreds of healthcare and health IT organizations, including several Fortune 500 companies.

Filed Under: EHR  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  EMR Adoption  Healthcare IT  Hospitals  mHealth
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Patient Engagement Adoption, Social Media and More — #HITsm Chat Highlights

Topic One:What will be the main drivers for increased use and adoption of #patientengagement tools such as #socialmedia?

Topic Two: How can/should/will providers meet #meaningfuluse criteria by engaging #patients through #socialmedia?

 

Topic Three: What other topics will most powerfully intersect with #patientengagement at #HIMSS13?

 

Topic Four: What business problems are you trying to find solutions for at #HIMSS13?

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February 2, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Healthcare IT  Healthcare Social Media  Meaningful Use  Medical Devices  Outcomes
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HIT Acronyms Leave Me Needing a Nice Glass of Wine

I had quite a learning curve to overcome when I first started working in and writing about healthcare nearly four years ago. I quickly realized that industry insiders peppered their conversations, blogs, tweets and presentations with acronyms that no mere mortal (or patient) could be expected to easily derive definition from. Only after months of immersion was I able to grasp the meaning of acronyms I heard on an everyday basis.

I was reminded of this when several popped up during a recent #HITsm tweetchat.

Gregg Masters, i.e. @2healthguru, made a good point in response:

Is healthcare as an industry alienating patients with this type of healthcare-ese? Do healthcare acronyms make patients feel less confident when speaking with care givers – perhaps more willing to gloss over certain issues because they are not confident in their understanding of certain terms and conditions? I can only imaging how amplified this problem is with the non-English speaking.

As we spend time talking about patient engagement and education, let’s not forget that concepts and terms that we take for granted may not be fully understood by the majority of healthcare consumers. Care givers should set aside time with patients to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to understanding healthcare terms.

That being said, the next time new healthcare acronyms crop up, I’ll kick back and have a glass of wine before diving into definitions.

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November 27, 2012 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: EMR  Healthcare  Healthcare IT
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Wireless Health, HIPAA, and Patient Engagement – Around Healthcare Scene

EMR and HIPAA

Wireless Health Data Collection Innovations Getting Hot

Some of the newest health data innovations are wireless. From a chip that can test blood sugar levels to an ECG that connects to a cell phone through blue tooth. The possibilities are endless when it comes to wireless devices.

HIPAA Infographic

HIPAA violations happen frequently. Some are criminal, others civil. This infographic explains some of the most common reason for HIPAA violations, and the penalties associated with them. Last year, over 12,000 companies have either been investigated or had issues resolved concerning HIPAA violations. Definitely an interesting infographic to look over.

Hospital EMR and EHR

FCC Says Wireless Health Should Be “Routine” Within Five Years

An announcement from the FCC pushes for mHealth to be a standard practice in the medical world by 2017. Some doctors are hesitant to implement mobile devices, so this may be difficult for some to grasp. The FCC is working to make this easier, by doing things like working with the FDA to help with creating and introducing devices into the market.

Happy EMR Doctor

Patient Engagement: Who are the Real Targets?

While creators of health technology claim they are trying to reach patients most, what does that mean? Many people who would benefit from these types of technology are lower class, however, upper class people are probably more likely to embrace it. Should companies invest more time in discovering who target markets are?

Smart Phone Health Care

Traqs: One Tool to Rule Them All

Having trouble keeping track of all the health apps and devices that are being created? Traqs, a new device, does it for you. This innovation can track multiple devices and create graphs about activity on them. It makes it much easier to take control of your health and exercise devices.

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September 30, 2012 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  EHR Market  EHR Recruiting  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  EMR Adoption  EMR Doctor's Blog  EMR Technology  Health IT Jobs  Healthcare  Healthcare IT  Healthcare Social Media  HIE  Hospitals  Medical Devices  mHealth  PHR
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Patient Experience Key to Unlocking Engagement Potential

I enjoy my day job, fortunately (it actually encourages my blogging-on-the-side habit), and I love it even more when our product marketing manager, Jessica Clifton, rolls into town from up North to spend a week or so with our team plotting, planning and catching up. Yesterday found us finalizing a new report, “10 Trends in Hospital Patient Experience,” before the dismissal bell rang at 5 p.m. As I read over it with my editor’s hat on, I realized that if hospitals want to not only increase patient satisfaction, but also more easily meet Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements pertaining to electronic patient communication, then diving into patient experience/satisfaction surveys are a good place to gain insight into both.

Let me back up a bit. First, let’s review the Stage 2 requirements pertaining to digital patient engagement, as so nicely compiled by Brian Ahier:

  • Use secure messaging to communicate with patients on relevant health information
  • Use Certified EHR Technology to identify patient-specific education resources and provide those resources to the patient
  • Provide patients the ability to view online, download, and transmit their health information within 4 business days of the information being available
  • Use clinically relevant information to identify patients who should receive reminders for preventative/follow-up care
  • Provide clinical summaries for patients for each office visit

Now, let’s take a look at some of the common categories covered in patient experience surveys:

  • How often did doctors communicate well with patients?
  • How often did nurses communicate well with patients?
  • Were patients given information about what to do during recovery at home?

While the national average of patient responses for these particular questions were in the 77 to 83 percent range, other categories of patient experience didn’t fare so well. Our report found that “Patients rated staff explanation of medications (prior to administering) most poorly, with 20 percent of those surveyed indicating it sometimes or never occurred. Seventeen percent of patients surveyed reported not being given instruction on at-home recovery care.”

I’ve obviously cherry-picked those survey sections having to do with patient communication, and I’ve done so to highlight the opportunities providers have to begin meeting their electronic messaging quota in the areas patients seem to need it most.

I’d be interested in hearing from providers as to how they are going to go about increasing their digital engagement with patients. Did the latest batch of patient surveys provide any insight? Please share your experiences below.

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September 19, 2012 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: EMR  Healthcare  Healthcare IT  Meaningful Use
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Meaningful Use Stage 2, Reduced Patient Engagement, #HITsm Role in Creating Communities – #HITsm Chat Highlights

Every week, HL7 Standards, hosts a #HITsm Tweet Chat and poses four questions “on current topics that are influencing healthcare technology, health IT, and the use of social media in healthcare.” It’s always a great discussion and also a great chance to meet a wide variety of people that are passionate about healthcare IT.

In case you missed it, or are curious about what went on this week, we’ve put together the list of topics with some of the best responses for each topic. There were some interesting topics this week, as well as some great responses. If you have any opinions on any of these topics, feel free to continue the discussion in the comments. This chats take place every Friday at 11AM CST. You’ll find members of Healthcare Scene regularly participating in the chat under some of the following Twitter accounts: @techguy, @ehrandhit, @hospitalEHR, and @smyrnagirl.

Topic One: What are your general thoughts on the final rules for Meaningful Use Stage 2? Positives? Negatives? 

 

 

 

Topic Two: Is the 5% reduced patient engagement threshold more a reflection of what is achievable or a cave to outside pressure?

 

 

 

Topic Three: What has prevented widespread adoption of coordinated care? Are the barriers technology, process, or people? 

 

 

 

Topic Four: What role does #HITsm play in creating communities to create skills that improve health before illness occurs? a la, #Salutogenesis

 

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September 1, 2012 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  EHR Market  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  EMR Adoption  Healthcare  Healthcare IT  Healthcare IT Market  Hospitals  Meaningful Use  mHealth  Outcomes
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Giving Up on Digital Patient Engagement

I’ve been a big fan of the “engaged patient” for about as long as I’ve known what the term meant, but until earlier this week, I hadn’t given much thought to the burden Meaningful Use requirements potentially place on providers to create these types of folks.

As I’m sure most readers know, comments on proposed Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements were due to CMS this past Monday. Many organizations not only turned in comments, but released summaries of those comments to various media outlets as well.

Lynn Scheps, Vice President of Government Affairs at SRSsoft, has done a nice job of drawing out a few major themes from comments submitted over the 60-day period. In her most recent Meaningful Use Monday blog, she points out that:

“While increased patient engagement is recognized as an important goal, providers are expressing concern about having their incentives be dependent on actions by patients—actions over which they have no real control. For example, one proposed measure would require that 10% of patients access their information on the physician’s portal, and another that 10% of patients send a secure e-mail message to their physician.”

Now, as I’ve written (or tweeted) about before, I’ve tried to get into using a personal health record, and just found it to be too much trouble, too time consuming. If I, a fairly digitally savvy healthcare consumer (and thankfully a fairly healthy one), can’t keep up with a PHR, how likely is it that patients who don’t even have an email address will immediately jump onto their physician’s portal or send e-mail messages to their physician.

And it should probably be pointed out that those who make up the bulk of healthcare costs in America – the chronically ill and/or obese – most likely consist of patients in underserved communities, people who don’t have consistent access to the Internet. It’s a systemic problem that I could write at length about, but I’ll save that for another blog altogether.

On the flip side, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in its Stage 2 comments to CMS, called for the criteria around patient engagement to be either maintained or enhanced. Its views on doubling the 10-percent threshold of patients viewing, downloading or transmitting their health information seems fairly indicative of their stance on the criteria as a whole:

“This change would provide an incentive to health professionals to adopt patient-facing platforms that have the potential to increase patient engagement and self-care.”

Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what route CMS takes when it issues a final rule sometime in August. I do hope that it errs on the side of conservative optimism, and keeps its proposed patient engagement criteria, rather than decreasing or banishing them altogether. Hopefully this can help healthcare overcome its bad habit of protracted procrastination and, with the tiniest of baby steps, help physicians get over the hump of getting themselves, and their patients, on the digital bandwagon.

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May 10, 2012 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: EMR  EMR Technology  Healthcare  Healthcare IT  Meaningful Use  PHR
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