NR534A-NEED RESPONSES
Anna Tam
Using technology to engage patients at the point of care enables them to learn more about their illnesses or conditions, set care goals, provide real-time feedback on their experiences, and stay connected to health care providers across the care continuum. For certain patient populations, utilization of interactive patient care technology is positively correlated with improved clinical quality and patient experience outcomes (Clavelle, 2018).
Asan et al. (2018) using a mixed method study regarding screen sharing and found that providing patient access to the EHRs with screen sharing was linked with several benefits including improved patient engagement, education, transparency, comprehension, and trust. These factors are vital in engaging patient centered care.
How might you utilize health IT systems to support your patients, as well as their families and caregivers?
In order to support patients, Balhara and Millstein (2020) advocate for clinicians partnering with patients to create meaningful, personalized narratives. The idea of Open notes, which allows for patients to review their physician’s progress notes. The authors also discuss the idea of a personal “snapshot,”. This could be an easily accessible tab in the EHR where patients could create and store their profile of personally important things they would like their doctors to know—family photo, preferred way to receive information, names of loved ones, and upcoming milestones. Such “snapshots” could immediately humanize episodic acute care encounters; an emergency physician, for instance, would have instant access to details that would facilitate a more personalized care encounter. Similarly, such “snapshots,” evolving over the course of a patient’s relationship with their primary care provider, would lend increased depth and intimacy to long-term care relationships. This would help restore inclusivity and patient agency to the EHR.
References
Asan, O., Tyszka, J., & Crotty, B. (2018). The electronic health record as a patient engagement tool: mirroring clinicians’ screen to create a shared mental model. JAMIA open, 1(1), 42-48. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamiaopen/ooy006
Balhara, K. S., & Millstein, J. H. (2020). Partners in Narrative: Empowering Patient–Physician Partnerships in the Electronic Health Record. Journal of Patient Experience, 833–835. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373520962608
Clavelle, J. (2018). Leveraging Technology to Increase Patient and Family Engagement and Improve Outcomes. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 42 (3), 246-253. doi: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000301.
Cyron Dalida
How can health IT systems be leveraged for patient engagement and empowerment?
The promotion of patient portals as an extension of care delivery can empower patients by giving them access to their digital health information. Having the power to check diagnostic results, access physician’s notes, and make appointments through a handheld device supports patient-centered care, especially for older patients with chronic health conditions. Promotion of this technology starts with providers at a clinic or by nurses in the ED during discharge teaching.
Why is it important for families and caregivers of patients to be included in these processes?
Being included in this process through the patient portal system supports patient-centered care and keeps them connected with their providers or specialists, knowing that the technology supports their health and answers questions they may have.
How might you utilize health IT systems to support your patients, as well as their families and caregivers?
By paying attention to the needs of diverse patient populations, doing one-on-one training for patients with limited digital literacy, and involving clinicians and staff in promoting patient portal use is key to achieving higher patient engagement rates with the patient portal system (Lyles et al., 2020).
References:
Lyles, C.R., Nelson, E.C., Frampton, S. (2020). Using electronic health record portals to improve patient engagement: Research priorities and best practices. Annals of Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.7326/M19-0876
Maria Houston
Personal Health Records (PHRs) are becoming more important in healthcare today due to a stronger emphasis on patient engagement, which can result in improved disease management and patient outcomes (George & Hopla, 2015). According to Health IT.gov, Personal Health Records (PHRs) contain similar types of information as Electronic Health Records (EHRs), such as diagnoses, medications, immunizations, family medical histories, and provider contact information, but are designed to be set up, accessed, and managed by patients. Patients can use PHRs to manage their health information in a private, secure, and confidential environment with information that is clinically informative for a health systems team.
Similarly, self-tracking and self-management tools are valuable for health care consumers and encourage people to be active participants in their care. Health applications today have billions of users in America with an increasing range of digital health systems (Statistica, 2022). The ability for people to track and monitor their own health status is a feature that can be invaluable to patients and is expanding.
In a study exploring colorectal cancer survivors, a Personal Health Record eJournal was utilized that contained a “Reflection and Communication” element. Here, patients viewed the journal as a tool for reflection where they could record their personal thoughts, emotions, symptoms, and “vent” about frustrations. If shared with their health professionals, the information recorded in the journal as a way to open a dialogue with treatment professionals that would potentially reduce a sense of isolation that co-occurs with a cancer diagnosis. These are just several examples of ways to leverage Health IT to improve patient engagement and empowerment.
George, T., and Hopla, D., (2015). Advantages of personal health records, Nursing Critical Care: V10 – I 6 – p 10-12 https://journals.lww.com/nursingcriticalcare/Fulltext/2015/11000/Advantages_of_personal_health_records.3.aspx#:~:text=%20Advantages%20of%20personal%20health%20records%20%201,the%20security%20of%20their%20health%20information.%20More%20?msclkid=38ecbd38b48c11ecbf1e516f79b65583
Health IT.gov (nd). What are the differences between electronic medical records, electronic health records, and personal health records? https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-are-differences-between-electronic-medical-records-electronic-health-records-and-personal?msclkid=92f22b8a
Haggstrom, D. A., & Carr, T. (2022). Uses of personal health records for communication among colorectal cancer survivors, caregivers, and providers: interview and observational study in a human-computer interaction laboratory. Jmir Human Factors, 9(1), 16447. https://doi.org/10.2196/16447
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NR534A RESPONSES ARE REQUIRED
Tam, Anna
Using technology to engage patients at the point of care enables them to learn more about their illnesses or conditions, set care goals, provide real-time feedback on their experiences, and stay connected to health care providers across the care continuum. For certain patient populations, utilization of interactive patient care technology is positively correlated with improved clinical quality and patient experience outcomes (Clavelle, 2018).
Asan et al. (2018) using a mixed method study regarding screen sharing and found that providing patient access to the EHRs with screen sharing was linked with several benefits including improved patient engagement, education, transparency, comprehension, and trust. These factors are vital in engaging patient centered care.
How might you utilize health IT systems to support your patients
