How Technology Through Consumer Applications Can Increase Patient Literacy

As a health care provider, it is important to have an understanding of the most productive methods for patient education. Traditional methods of patient teaching has shown to not always be productive in instilling the knowledge that patients need to manage their illnesses. Electronic tablet-based patient education tools may be a more useful way of teaching self-management by providing patients with the instruments to improve management of chronic diseases. In this article, the challenges of implementation were stated so that health providers could be aware, moving forward, with technology advancement. Knowing the barriers of electronic tablet-based patient education allows appropriate planning, and preparation for a successful implementation in the clinical setting. There were no identifed weaknesses of this article; it is advantageous to all health care providers and

Use of consumer healthcare information technology through web-based applications, mobile devices, and patient portals allowed Surae Lucie to electronically view and download her mother’s healthcare information. This was especially helpful since English is a second language to her mother and the information could be viewed repeatedly over a period until her mother understood the physician’s orders of medications and compare that to what Surae Lucie’s mother was taking.

The American Recovery and Revitalization Act of 2009 brought meaningful use of patient records to help increase the improvement of patient care. With certified electronic health record technology, one goal is to improve quality, safety, efficiency, and to decrease health discrepancies. Some more goals are to get patient and family engaged in their care, continue to improve care coordination, and maintain privacy and security of patient health information. In order to achieve these goals, healthcare facilities must continue to stress the importance of patient engagement and to use the patient portal for healthcare information (“Meaningful Use Definition,” n.d.). Patient engagement is defined as a person’s continued participation in dealing

Since consumers are becoming more involved with their healthcare decisions, organizations and providers must adapt to consumer requisites and utilize independent resources to ensure the viability of their businesses. In 2008, a study reported that 81% of internet users and 66% of adults utilized online health information as a source for health related issues (Ha & Yun, 2011). Some examples of online health information resources comprised of search engines, organizational websites, and governmental agencies that participate in health related issues (Ha & Yun, 2011). By accessing health related information, consumers empower themselves with knowledge to assist in healthcare decisions and wellness management (Ha & Yun, 2011). As a result of consumers becoming better educated about healthcare, administrators must explore internet resources in order to maintain quality and services that is expected by consumers, and maintain the reputation of the organization.

In 2010, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services crafted the nation’s 10 year health agenda. Healthy People 2020 outlines key objectives aimed at improving the standard of care health consumers receive by improving both the quality and format of health information offered to consumers as well as improving the consumers’ ability to obtain and process that information. These objectives included supporting shared decision-making between patients and providers, increasing health literacy skills, and delivering accurate, accessible, and usable health information that is targeted or tailored to the individual. (“Healthy People.gov” 2015)

It is also essential that these people are aware of the necessity of screenings and other preventative care, and that they build on their general healthcare knowledge and literacy. Comprehension of these factors allows consumers to make well-informed decisions and select the option that is best for their circumstances. Accessible, user-friendly tools such as websites and mobile apps can assist consumers with these tasks.

Healthcare reform has created incentives to increase patient engagement to increase accountability, healthcare outcome and lower healthcare cost. In the early days of this movement, web portals were created with basic functions of requesting appointments, prescription refills, and paying medical bills (Butterfield, 2013). Today, patient portals allow users to access dictated visit reports, labs, approve access controls combined with the function of the web portals. As more health information is pushed to the portals, the users (patients and family) are more involved with healthcare decisions and more knowledgeable on available options that meet individual need.

The principal utilization of health informatics began in the 1950s with dental information gathered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Utilization accelerated in subsequent decades which gave a standard programming language to clinical applications. Today, the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) oversees member organizations involved in health informatics worldwide. (Rouse, 2010). The potential for health IT to enhance the safety of health care delivery has been regarded for quite a long time. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act,

Advances in modern technology surrounds us in our day to day lives, allowing conveniences and efficiency at our fingertips. Great strides have been made over the years with technology, and the healthcare industry along with many other industries have adopted this new way of functioning; electronically. The effects of technology have come to the forefront in where our government has acknowledged the benefits and opportunities. “The promise of Health Information Technology for improving quality and safety of health care while reducing costs has caught the eye of policy makers and other leaders in health care” (Hersh, 2006). It deeply affects how we connect, interact, and communicate internally and externally, but also gives us a sense of control on how we engage ourselves to the innovative software and systems.

The confounding factor is that people do not always respond to information and make choices based on common rationale. For example research demonstrates that 1 in 5 prescriptions go unfilled after a treatment plan has been provided by a physician. Among patients being treated for chronic conditions such as diabetes, medication adherence is actually lowest. NEHI research estimates cost of medication non-adherence at 290 billion dollars annually in the U.S. The National Diabetes Prevention Program cites nearly 29 million people in the U.S. have diabetes which cost the U.S. healthcare system 176 billion dollars in 2012, despite diabetes being largely preventable with diet, exercise and not smoking. These and other examples such as missed physician appointments, misuse of emergency care services, and lack of commitment to healthier lifestyles demonstrates complexity in managing the human aspect of healthcare. If population health management programs are to be successful they must be able to effectively support various risk cohorts of patients in making decisions to maximize benefits from healthcare services. As healthcare organizations increase focus on keeping patients healthy, many organizations are questioning the most effective use of technology and support services to enable better decisions regarding health

The mission statement or purpose of the American Health Information Management Association, (AHIMA) pertains to “leading the advancement and ethical use of quality health information to promote health and wellness worldwide; and leads the health informatics and information management community to advance professional practice and standards” (the

Connecting consumers to reliable health care information or health care providers can be challenging for any institution. At the current time, there are two popular methods that allow consumers to access health care. One method to obtain reliable health-related information is through an electronic web-based resource. The other option, if a consumer prefers to see a health care provider in person, is through a walk-in clinic. Utilizing these resources allows the consumer to see a health care provider for acute and minor illnesses or obtain detailed information and potential treatment options via the internet. When looking to increase usability and awareness, institutions should understand the values and preferences of

What if every other person that received help from a healthcare provider left the health facility and did not comply with anything the provider told them? The patient did not take the medication as directed, if at all, did not follow-up in 2 weeks to ensure adequate treatment and never improved, or did not care for their surgical wound, leading them to being hospitalized for sepsis. What is the point in going to seek help, if the patient is not going to do what it takes to improve? As emphasized in the American Medical Association (AMA) video, nearly one-half of Americans do not have the skills to overcome the barriers to health literacy (2010). “Health literacy is the ability to read, understand, and act on health information.” (AMA, 2010) Taking this into consideration, who is to blame, the patient who did nothing the provider told them to, or the provider who did not ensure understanding of the information given to the patient nor emphasize the importance of compliance and risks? Patients do not visit healthcare facilities to cause themselves more confusion and continued suffering, they are seeking advice and assistance, trusting that the provider will be able to deliver care in the most appropriate manner no matter the circumstances. Although many of these health literacy barriers are out of the provider’s control, such as the inability to read or memory impairment, this does not denote that there are not many ways to overcome

Patient portals are slowly reaching the diverse set of population in the Unites States of America. Although, the use of technology in healthcare systems is gaining more importance than before due to ‘meaningful use’ approach, but is it contributing towards healthcare disparities? Inverse care law postulates that new healthcare interventions disproportionately benefit those patients with the most resources [1]. But does every individual irrespective of their race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status receive the same benefits? Do patient portals help in improving the medication adherence in reality? There are several studies which have confirmed that using patient portals, patients can access to care and measure their outcomes. However, this

The report highlights the development of public health informatics and its results. The field is not new, but there are novel ways that computer and information technologies are finding their way in the provision of public care. Most agencies tasked with this role of providing public care are continually utilizing electronics to make it give rise to desirable outcomes. This trend is not new, but its success if restricted by factors such as necessary legislation and integration of systems. Many areas of public care have established informatics to facilitate their functions. This introduces a problem because these systems cannot be integrated with those of other field of healthcare. This is one of the most challenging obstacle that the field of health informatics has to overcome.