Engaging Patients through EHRs

Engaging patients in their healthcare and involving their families alike is the main priority of healthcare providers in today’s healthcare scenario. The term Patient Engagement implies the involvement of patients and makes them realize the importance of being more responsible towards their healthcare information. This, in turn, is also related to specific benefits and certain conditions and standards that eligible providers have to meet.

The engagement of patients and their families in the patients’ healthcare is a prominent goal of the EHR Incentive Program. Implementing meaningful use of IT is the second of five health policy priorities that aims to improve patient engagement and enhance  quality care. It also encourages the idea of involving patients’ families because many patients depend on them for  support.  Healthcare providers find that the use of certified EHR technologies will make health information available to their patients and their families. 

 

Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirement suggests that providers to increase the use of patient portals and enhance email communication between physicians and patients. This makes providers to work  hard to meet MU requirement in a timely fashion. But, there are many challenges that providers and healthcare IT service providers are facing alike. For instance, according to a report in the US, nearly half of American adults do not adequately understand the written health information on patient portals. Second, according to The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the number of people in the U.S. who speak a language other than English has grown by 140 percent over the last few decades. Thus, providers and IT vendors are seeking ways to overcome these challenges in the future, as well as to engage more patients, and improve ways for better care.

Meaningful Use Improving Healthcare

People often get confused with the term Meaningful Use (MU), as it implies a set of criteria for the use of EHR systems to improve patient care by healthcare providers. Moreover, in a health IT context, MU is defined as the use of electronic health records (EHR) and related technology within a healthcare organization.

Many providers wonder as how the adopting of EHR systems would achieve their business goals. However, with the widespread adoption of EHRs, it has proved that they have helped healthcare providers and hospitals to offer high quality care, safety to their patients, and provided them with many benefits.

The implementation of EHRs has revealed startling trends among patients, which helped providers to understand the prevalence of certain diseases and behavioral patterns of patients. It also suggests that the providers with certified EHR technology are entitled to receive financial benefits or incentives from the Government of the United States.

To achieve meaningful use of IT, healthcare professionals and hospitals in the US must adopt and upgrade certified EHR technology to achieve specific objectives. These meaningful use objectives are grouped into five patient-driven domains that are mentioned below:

• Improve productivity, safety and efficiency 
• Engage patients  and their families meaningfully
• Improve quality care and coordination
• Improve public and population health
• Ensure privacy and security for personal health information

Saviance, as a healthcare solutions company has come up with various solutions for healthcare providers in healthcare IT space. The company has launched its patient portal software which enables providers to make a connect with their patients, build health communities and enhance quality care and productivity.