Patient engagement access to health information is nothing new. However, it has received an increasing amount of attention as a result of meaningful use, accountable care, and other outcomes-based programs and initiatives. Coupled with these are the growing awareness and demand among consumers about what constitutes high-quality care, a perspective that looks to accessibility as a key determinant in staying with their current provider or electing to find a new one.
The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) recently ramped up its efforts in the area of patient engagement by partnering with Axial Exchange to implement a mobile solution that will give patients better access to their health information. As David Jenkins, Vice President of VHHA Services explains in this Q&A, patient access to health information is part and parcel of meeting the expectations of patients and the demands of a new era of healthcare delivery.
What does patient engagement mean from the provider’s perspective? How does patient engagement fit into the organization’s overall health IT strategy?
As a result of healthcare moving to a performance based/outcomes driven model, patient engagement initiatives will increasingly become more critical for health care providers. Keeping patients healthy after they leave the hospital has become central to health care systems’ overall care delivery model, not just IT strategy. In that context, patient engagement has come to mean the information and tools that a patient needs to stay well between encounters with healthcare providers. From an IT perspective, patient engagement involves mobile tools for patients’ self-care and analytical tools for providers to closely monitor the health and wellness of their patient populations.
When/how exactly did the need for patient access to health information become a priority for your organization? How had the organization historically worked to engage its patient population?
Patients have always requested access to their health information. Prior to modern day advancements in healthcare information technology and the ways in which information is exchanged was paper and fax. Over time, many providers have moved to a web-based portal. The “patient electronic access” core measure of Stage 2 Meaningful Use, an incentive-based use of technology to improve care under the healthcare reform law, accelerated these portal roll-outs. Today, providers are moving rapidly to meet patient demand for secure access to health information via mobile wireless devices.
What concerns do you have about patient access to health information (e.g., health literacy, privacy, security)? How were those concerns addressed by your vendor?
Patient electronic access should be subject to the same level of enterprise privacy and security that provider access is. At a minimum, that means data is encrypted at rest and in transit with access requiring thorough authentication. With respect to health literacy, collaborative efforts are underway between health care providers and community stakeholders nationwide and are showing excellent progress with enhancements being made daily. Health illiteracy affects everyone, often resulting in higher emergency department usage, underutilization of preventive care resources and challenges associated with managing chronic conditions.
In order to address these challenges, content provided by Axial Exchange comes from the Mayo Clinic, which is a trusted resource for health information. The comprehensive health library covers over 2,000 diseases and conditions. In terms of health literacy, the content targets a 9th grade reading level. To assure privacy and security, all personal health information access requires authentication and is recorded in a full audit log. This data is not stored locally on the user’s mobile device and is cleared from cache after each user session. All transmission of PHI is encrypted in transport, while storage of PHI resides in a private VPN subnet and is protected by a network firewall. Passwords in the database are encrypted via Secure Salted HASH.
