Article from Dunn, Margaritis, and Anderson (2017) 

Health literacy is the ability to understand and act on health information and is linked to health outcomes. It is unclear how health literacy skills are developed in patients with complex conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to gain perspectives of both patients and healthcare professionals on how health literacy skills were developed in patients with cardiovascular disease or diabetes. The research questions addressed how knowledge and skills were acquired, the role of digital tools, instructional strategies used by healthcare professionals, and how the instructional strategies of the healthcare professionals matched the learning preferences and needs of the patients. A social ecological framework was used, which underscored the importance of understanding health literacy from multiple sources. Semistructured interviews were conducted on 19 healthcare professionals and 16 patients. Emergent key themes included: (a) social support plays an important role as a learning opportunity; (b) many patients get their information from internet searches; (c) instructional strategies should be personalized, interactive, social, and relevant; and (d) patients are self-directed learners. Linking of these themes led to the development of the health literacy instructional model, which is a 3-step approach, including an emotional support, behavioral approach, and instructional strategy. Social support was the common element in all 3 phases and was perceived to be key to developing health literacy skills, resulting in the key implication for social change. Recommendations are to consider social support in the development of health literacy instructional strategies.

eHealth Initiative’s 2017 Provider Survey on Access to Patient Information examines perspectives on:
• Increased access to patient information
• Interoperability
• Changing regulations, including compliance with Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Meaningful Use (MU)
• Latest findings on provider-related interoperability solutions, which drive outcomes and organizational priorities

After careful analysis of the survey results, the following key findings emerged:

• Key Finding 1: Patient engagement appears to be increasing, with more patients accessing their health information and managing how it is shared
• Key Finding 2: Providers are struggling to meet patient access regulations, which do not necessarily align with business needs
• Key Finding 3: Changing federal requirements, and the costs associated with them, are causing great concern among providers
• Key Finding 4: Current interoperability solutions do not meet the needs of providers
• Key Finding 5: Patient security, privacy and confidentiality remain top concerns amongst providers
• Key Finding 6: Professional societies and industry groups play a key role in educating providers on new regulations
• Key Finding 7: EHR vendors are viewed as “helpful” in addressing current patient access regulatory requirements
• Key Finding 8: Providers are engaged in a variety of alliances and participate in different interoperability frameworks
• Key Finding 9: Providers prioritize connectivity in a variety of ways

Consumer Mediated Exchange, presented by Hon Pak, CMO, 3M Health Information Systems Division

UnitedHealthcare gathered both data and experiences extracted from their work with 110,000 physicians and 1,100 hospitals now
participating in some form of VBC program, including:
• Key findings and successes with their providers who are shifting to VBC.
• Important takeaways and best practices that emerged from their two ACO summits held in 2016 with more than 40 top-performing ACOs.
• Patient and physician stories illustrating the personal impact of VBC.
• Items they believe will be most critical over the coming years for more widespread adoption of VBC models and ACOs.

This report describes ways in which mobile health (mHealth) tools and technologies are used by adults to enable healthy eating, active living, and psychosocial support. Over the past several years, the Foundation for eHealth Initiative (FeHI) has researched how technology can support patients and healthcare providers to prevent, manage, and treat chronic conditions across the continuum of care. Funded by the Aetna Foundation, this report describes trends towards the consumerization of healthcare and demonstrates how mHealth can empower people to make healthy choices and improve health and wellness at an individual and population level. A series of case studies illustrates successful approaches to the design, implementation, and use of mHealth that enhance wellness efforts, and reviews some key challenges and barriers that remain to be addressed.

Infographic from Norwich University. Facts, statistics, and examples related to hospital renovation, construction, and facility trends.

Reference: http://graduate.norwich.edu/resources-msn/infographics-msn/cutting-edge-technology-and-modern-hospital-rooms/

Infographic from Adventist University of Health Sciences. Facts, statistics, and examples related to hospital efforts to improve the health of the communities in which they operate.

Reference: https://www.ehidc.org/resources/how-hospitals-can-improve-health-whole-communities-infographic

9/7/17 presentation from Jason Goldwater of National Quality Forum on Blockchain and its role in Health IT and Quality Measurement.