Gaming, social media & HIE all play role in interoperability
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Researchers in Toronto found that using an mHealth diabetes application (app) with the use of gamification incentives showed an improvement in the frequency of blood glucose monitoring in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
Evaluation showed that adolescents with type 1 diabetes increased their blood glucose measurement frequency by 50 percent using the mobile app and 88 percent said they would continue to use the system. The adolescents were rewarded in the form of iTunes music and apps.
Meanwhile, healthcare organizations are using social media to connect consumers and providers, according to a CSC white paper. The experience of early adopters demonstrates that social media can be used to accomplish healthcare goals in four broad areas: communications, information sharing, clinical outcomes and speed innovation.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s (ONC) state health information exchange (HIE) program is “on the verge of turning the corner on HIE,” Claudia Williams, MS, director of program said during a webinar. “The building blocks put in place by the HITECH Act help everyone see where exchange fits into the broader set of goals we all share. We've made incredible progress in a short amount of time. Information exchange should take off in 2012."
Today, little exchange is occurring, Williams said. Just 27 percent of hospital discharge summaries get to primary care providers within 48 hours, she said. And, the cost of exchange is high. New payment techniques, however, will help HIE grow rapidly, she said.
The ONC has a goal that information securely follows patients whenever and wherever they seek care, she said. “That’s an easy statement to make but it takes hard work.”
ONC’s approach to furthering information exchange includes several mantras. For example, government needs to be leveraged as a platform to create innovations for conditions of interoperability, HIE is not one-size-fits-all; and interoperability is a journey, not a destination. “We’re not going to be done this year or next year,” said Williams, adding that HIE will continue to evolve as users learn the best way to do things.
Is your facility using any of these techniques to advance interoperability? Please share your experience.
Beth Walsh
CMIO Editor
bwalsh@trimedmedia.com
Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.