The Role of Consumer Consent in Health Information Exchange (HIE) 

The traditional one-way information transfer considered the healthcare provider as the expert communicator and the patient as passive receiver of information. Patient-centered care operates based on patients’ preferences to improve patient safety and increase patient satisfaction and participation. A mutual exchange of information ensures that both patients and healthcare professionals form a partnership. Greater patients’ participation in Health Information Exchange can lead to higher degree of trust among all types of demographic groups. Patients need to be more engaged in decisions about data exchange through HIE in order to trust the technology and the healthcare system. The right of informed choice and consent is a meaningful means to achieve the support of consumers regarding HIE. However, the process of handling informed consent has caused variety of concerns such as security and privacy risks for patients. In this study, the role of consumer consent is discussed using the literature review method.

The full paper can be downloaded below.  

Actionable Intelligence at the Point of Care can Help Prevent Physician Burnout

It’s no secret that today’s physicians are expected to do more with less—less than complete patient information, less time to spend with each patient, fewer resources in general—all while delivering high-quality, cost-effective care to an increasingly value-focused and highly regulated consumer marketplace. The stakes are high, and many of these factors can lead to burnout.  Furthermore, administrative hurdles such as completing prior authorizations and addressing "sticker shock" concerns at the pharmacy also contribute.  

The good news is that physicians have access today to EHR-integrated prescription drug price transparency and prior authorization tools, which work together seamlessly to create an optimal experience for patients, pharmacists and physicians while helping to prevent or relieve physician burnout.

With actionable patient intelligence delivered to the point of care, physicians see how much a medication will cost their patient based on their specific health plan coverage. Together, physicians and patients can use this information to choose the drug option that is both medically appropriate and most affordable. And if a prior authorization is required, it can be completed electronically, and in most cases while the patient is still in the doctor’s office.

The full article can be viewed at the following link.  

It’s Time to Put Away the Puzzle: Improving Patient Safety by Enhancing Medication Management Accuracy

The NCPDP SCRIPT CancelRx transaction plays a critical role in medication management. A CancelRx Request message is sent to the pharmacy when a prescriber discontinues a medication in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, thereby providing a crucial piece of actionable intelligence that is distinct from other new e-prescription (NewRx) orders.  This transaction plays an essential role in prescribers’ workflows, as they expect timely receipt and efficient processing of their electronic medication orders, including cancellation orders, to ensure optimal patient care.  Unfortunately, this critical tool is currently underused.

The full article can be viewed at the following link.  

The original journal literature associated with this article can be downloaded below.  

Effects of Integrated Telehealth- Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Depression and Insomnia in Rural Older Adults

We examined the effects of integrated cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression and insomnia (CBT-D + CBT-I, respectively) delivered via video conference in rural middle-aged and older adults. Forty patients with depressive and insomnia symptoms were randomized to receive either 10 sessions of CBT-D + CBT-I or usual care (UC). Patients in the integrated CBT condition were engaged in telehealth treatment through Skype at their primary care clinic. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post treatment, and 3-month follow-up. CBT-D + CBT-I participants had significantly greater improvements in sleep at post treatment and 3-month follow-up as compared with the UC participants. The Time X Group interaction for depression was not significant;participants in both the CBT-D + CBT-I and UC conditions showed a decrease in depressive symptoms over time. Although integrated CBT benefits both depression and insomnia symptoms, its effects on depression are more equivocal. Further research should consider expanding the depression treatment component of integrated CBT to enhance effectiveness.

The full article can be downloaded below.  

Financial incentives to encourage value-based health care

This paper reviews the literature on the use of financial incentives to improve the provision of value-based health care. Eighty studies of 44 schemes from 10 countries were reviewed. The proportion of positive and statistically significant outcomes was close to 0.5. Stronger study designs were associated with a lower proportion of positive effects. There were no differences between studies conducted in the United States compared to other countries; between schemes that targeted hospitals or primary care; or between schemes combining pay for performance with rewards for reducing costs, relative to pay for performance schemes alone. Paying for performance improvement is less likely to be effective. Allowing payments to be used for specific purposes, such as quality improvement, had a higher likelihood of a positive effect, compared to using funding for physician income. Finally, the size of incentive payments relative to revenue was not associated with the proportion of positive outcomes.

The full paper can be downloaded below.  

Connecting your medical data could be the next big payoff

An article focused on creating accessible and integrated patient data.  This holistic approach fulfills value-based care goals and helps promote overall patient health and wellness.  

The full article can be viewed at this link.  

June 14, 2018 press release from the American Medical Association.

The promise of augmented intelligence (AI) in spurring technological innovation in medicine has generated growing interest among health care stakeholders. It also has spurred a range of concerns about the novel challenges in the design, implementation, and use—especially how AI will be incorporated into the practice of medicine and affect patients. With those varied perspectives, the American Medical Association passed its first policy addressing AI at its Annual Meeting, adopting broad policy recommendations for health and technology stakeholders on this issue.

The Amazonification of Healthcare

The digital age is no longer about just the product – it’s equally about the customer experience.

In turn, businesses are competing on their ability to deliver quantifiable results to empowered consumers, who are:

• Informed
• Proactive
• Demanding
• Discerning
• Cost-conscious

Naturally, empowered consumers have high expectations of the services and brands they choose to integrate into their lives – and Amazon’s buying experience, which is ultra-fast, convenient, innovative, and driven by user reviews, is the perfect example of this trend in action.

This “Amazonification effect” is transforming every industry from retail to finance – and the healthcare industry is now set to change forever for both consumers and businesses.

The full article and infographic can be viewed at this link   

Mayo Clinic Documentary

Take a timely look at how one institution has met the changing demands of healthcare for 150 years—and what it can teach us about facing the challenges of patient care today. 

The full documentary is available on PBS at this link until Oct. 9

NIH-funded genome centers to accelerate precision medicine discoveries

The All of Us Research Program awarded funds totaling $28.6 million to establish three genome centers around the country. These centers will begin to generate genomic data from biosamples contributed by the program’s participants. Ultimately, this information will become a critical component in the program’s precision medicine research platform, a national resource to support studies on a variety of important health questions. The All of Us Research Program is part of the National Institutes of Health.

The full press release can be viewed at this link.