IHTT offers tips for engaging patients

“Healthcare organizations which provide high quality outcomes for patients will be the ones who prosper under new health reforms models, such as accountable care organizations (ACOs) and patient-centered medical home (PCMH),” stated a report from the Institute for Health Technology Transformation (IHTT).

The “trend toward patient-centered care is clear,” stated the IHTT report, “Top Ten Things You Need to Know About Engaging Patients,"

“The explosion of healthcare information on the internet has led to a decline in the reliance of patients on their doctors only for health information,” the report claimed, citing a statistic from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project that 88 percent of American adults with internet access research health information online and 66 percent said internet information influenced a decision about how to manage a health condition.

The report made four recommendations for practical action that organizations can use to engage patients:

• “Walk the talk” on patient experience and engagement as a top priority and set specific engagement objectives;
• Champion your hospital’s social media strategy and assure mobility as a key component;
• Include caregivers and all patient demographics in patient engagement efforts and do not make assumptions about your audience unless based on research; and
• Consider health IT tools that already incorporate personal health records, public health physicians or patient portals.

The report can be downloaded here.