Archive for May, 2007
Telephone vs. Web Interaction in Improving Health Outcomes
May 8, 2007
Government Health IT blog points to an article in the Journal of Managed Care which concluded that: “diabetic patients were much more likely to adhere to suggested testing procedures when someone got on the phone and prodded them compared to people who didn’t get this kind of contact.” He concludes: “The challenge for the crop of new Web 2.0 technologies is not in carving out new ways of providing healthcare, at least not yet. It’s finding a way to be relevant in the current hierarchy of healthcare delivery.” Fortunately, there are some studies from groups like CHESS at the University of Wisconsin showing similar results for web interactions.
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Medical Wikis – a followup
May 5, 2007
Some helpful comments on yesterday’s post point to additional Wiki initiatives and discussion:
- WHO adopts Wikipedia approach for key update – a update of the ICD codes will utilize a wiki
- The British Medical Journal article from last year on Web 2.0 has a wealth of Rapid Responses which link to many more emerging Web 2.0 resources including Wikisurgery.com and JournalReview.org
Medical Wikis reviewed in AMA News
May 4, 2007
AskDrWiki and other medical wikis are discussed in AMA News this week. Generally positive, the article cautions, “As more medical wikis launch, experts say the creators will need to break away from the traditional wiki model to ensure that the information accessed is accurate. That is what many medical wikis are doing, which makes adding content slower but allows time for fact-checking.”
On a related note, I recently came across this hospital CEO blog from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, titled Running a Hospital which provides a unique, day-to-day perspective on just that.
Share this:Kaiser Survey on Health Records
May 3, 2007
According to a study released today at a Kaiser Healthcare Summit in DC, while most of the survey respondents stated that their provider uses electronic records, and that they are more efficient, the were slightly more trusting of papers records by 47 to 42%. 46% had visited a health information website, and were slightly more interested in these type of sites as opposed to insuror websites. 51% said they would prefer a doctor who uses an EMR all other qualifications being equal. 73% thought that the benefits of EMRs outweighed the risks.
Overall, these results are encouraging, but they still show a low level of familiarity with EMRs.
Share this:eVisits on CBS News
May 2, 2007
Dr. Kellerman of the American Academy of Family Physicians was on CBS TV this morning discussing the pros and cons of evisits. In the video he discusses doing this in the context of an existing relationship with a physician and not with someone who you do not know and does not know you. He sees value in the future prospects for evisits but cautioned that they not be used for urgent or emergent uses. It is helpful for this information to reach the general public as it will inevitably come in the near future perhaps as a feature of teathered PHRs.
Share this:Quicken Health offered to Cigna Members
May 1, 2007
The San Jose Business Journal reports that Cigna will offer their members Quicken Health from Intuit at no charge. Similar to the personal finance version of Quicken, it allows the member to download claims information and organize medical expenses. Quicken already has their Medical Expense Manager in version 2.0 but the website indicates that Quicken Health is coming soon. Oriented toward Health Savings Account customers, the product will also allow downloading and organizing of medical records. Will this mean some kind of connection to the major EHR/PHR vendors? Quicken Health will also be offered by United Healthcare and others.
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