Posts Tagged ‘eHealth’
eCleveland Clinic Services include Sharing EMR with Referring Physicians
September 22, 2006
In the Cleveland Plain Dealer today, the DrConnect product is described as opening up the EMR to outside physicians. With the patient’s permission, a referring physician can view the record of that patient in a view only mode. This provides the potential for instant data exchange without the traditional methods of paper or fax. The article also explains the MyChart product from Epic Systems which allows to patient view into the EMR as well. The potential for improved continuity of care and reduction of errors is clearly evident as this kind of data exchange is expanded. The article did not emphasize strongly enough the security behind these ehealth products which is necessary to reassure the public.
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Healia Search Engine Launch
September 21, 2006
Healia, a health search engine reviewed in beta previously here, has launched. Still considered beta but improved, the tool is rich with features. I like the filters for gender, age cohorts and heritage which can also be hidden, the font size widget and search history. But one of the best features is the ability to go more general or more specific on each topic.There are also methods to incorporate the search into your site and an offer of business solutions.
The algorithms appear sound from a sampling of key health topics and the drug search has even more – a suggested result from sources like Medline, dosage, uses and side effects in tabs. The search results appear to be from trusted sources like WebMD, hospital websites, NOAH, government websites, Merck, etc. Attributes are assigned to each search result, such as, Advanced Reading, whether the site has a privacy policy, fast loading, and formatting for text browsers.
Can’t review a search engine without a comparison to Google and in this case, Google Co-op health. While Google is working on developing trusted sources through a subscription model and helping users narrow searches for some health categories, it does not provide the richness of a niche tool like Healia. Hospital websites should recommend tools like this which produce focused and reliable results.
Share this:Demand for Online Health Services
September 12, 2006
According the the Wall Street Journal, a survey of consumers indicates that 64% want access to an electronic health
record; 74% want to communicate with their physician via e-mail; 77% want e-mail reminders when they should schedule a physician visit or some other type of medical care. And 54% said an EHR would influence their choice between physicians. However, equal percentages do not have access to these services currently.
So the question is, how do we enable the general public who want these services to obtain them? A few ways: providers offer these services, more education of consumers of options to obtain these services through providers, payors or other online offerings. With this kind of response, it appears that the concerns about security by consumers have lowered enough to encourage acceptance of these services.
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