Blog by Asim Masood (Introduction by Colin Hung)
We are really excited to welcome special guests from Canada Health Infoway this week on #hcldr:
- Asim Masood @HikarambaAsim, Chief Medical Officer, Canada Health Infoway
- Shelagh Maloney @12Maloney, VP, Canada Health Infoway
- Christina Wong @christinajwong, Canada Health Infoway
- Annette McKinnon @anetto, Patient Advisor at Canada Health Infoway
November 14-20 is Digital Health Week in Canada and #hcldr is helping to raise awareness of the impact of digital health by hosting a tweetchat on the topic. Below is the wonderful blog written by Asim Masood as background for our discussion on Tuesday, November 22nd at 8:30pm ET.
Enjoy.
Patient engagement is the blockbuster drug of the century
From my perspective, the patient engagement movement, without question, will be the single greatest factor in changing the way health care is delivered.
Research is bearing this out. A report from UK’s National Health Service (NHS) reveals that organizations with a strong emphasis on providing a high-quality patient experience have better health outcomes. Furthermore, research has linked a positive patient experience to health system benefits, such as lower overhead costs through lower staff turnover, enhanced patient recovery, improved productivity and efficiencies, and more informed choices by patients.
While the patient movement is on the rise and the evidence is backing it up, barriers to patient empowerment still exist.
That’s why, during Canada’s third-annual Digital Health Week (November 14-20), we’re sparking the conversation between patients, clinicians, health care organizations and all citizens to #ThinkDigitalHealth and its role in helping patients become partners.
Digital health plays an important role, not as a tool for clinicians alone, but for changing the way patients, families and caregivers participate. Would patients like to see their information before a discussion with their health care provider? How could digital health help pediatric patients or seniors who delegate access to a family member?
For example, research by Canada Health Infoway, found that Canadians with online access to their health information or health services say it makes them feel more confident in the care they are receiving (75 per cent); has helped improve their knowledge of their health (77 per cent) and has allowed them to have more informed discussions with their doctor (74 per cent). These insights from Canadians point to digital health as an enabler along the path to patient empowerment. What’s your experience?
I hope you can join me on Tuesday, November 22, at 8:30pm ET (for your local time click here) for a #HCLDR tweet chat on digital health and the engaged patient to discuss:
- T1 What does an engaged patient look like?
- T2 Does digital health play a role in patient empowerment?
- T3 How does digital health affect the relationship between patients and clinicians? Is this change for the good?
- T4 How can digital health remove some of the obstacles for citizens to move from patients to partners?
We also hope you can take part in the wider discussion during Digital Health Week, which you can join using #ThinkDigitalHealth. Tell us, what does digital health mean to you?
Resources
“Connecting Patients for Better Health: 2016”, Canada Health Infoway, 2016, https://www.infoway-inforoute.ca/en/component/edocman/resources/3152-connecting-patients-for-better-health-2016, accessed 16 November 2016
“Improving experiences of care: Our shared understanding and ambition”, National Quality Board, January 2015, https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/improving-experiences-of-care.pdf, accessed 16 November 2016
“Patient Engagement is a strategy not a tool”, Leonard Kish, 2014, http://healthstandards.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/HL7Standards-Patient-Engagement-ebook.pdf, accessed 16 November 2016
“Connected Health: How digital technology is transforming health and social care”, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, 2015, https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/life-sciences-health-care/deloitte-uk-connected-health.pdf, accessed 16 November 2016
“The Economics of Digital Health”, Shelagh Maloney, Canada Health Infoway, 9 February 2016, https://www.infoway-inforoute.ca/en/what-we-do/blog/infoway/6843-the-economics-of-digital-health, accessed 16 November 2016
Image Credit
Bridging Knowledge to Health – Paul Bica https://flic.kr/p/9PKymD
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