Legal Research

Patient Involvement Helps

A recent study shows that the participation of patients in the use of electronic health records (EHRs) might improve the effectiveness of the system.   The study was conducted by Harvard Medical School, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (abstract of study, fulltext not available without a subscription).

Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates (HVMA) is a group practice that has had patients’ records online for the last 12 years.  The researchers choose 21,860 HVMA patients who were overdue for colorectal screening and 110 doctors who treated those patients and then split the patients and the doctors into sample and control groups.  They sent personalized letters (complete with an educational pamphlet, fecal occult blood test kit, and instructions for direct scheduling of sigmoidoscopies/colonoscopies) to the sample group of patients.  A sample of their physicians received a pop-up reminder that their patients were overdue for their colorectal screening tests.  This reminder “appeared” when the doctor accessed his patient’s EHR.   After 15 months, about 44% of the patients who received the direct reminder went for screening, compared to 38% who didn’t receive a direct reminder.  Reminders to the doctors resulted in an increase in screening rates only among patients with 3 or more primary care visits with their physicians (59.5% vs. 52.7%).  The study showed that repeat online reminders to a patient’s physician can be used to foster better healthcare.  And more importantly, that reminding patients directly, which in this case resulted in an increase in colorectal screening, showed one way that electronic health records can foster better healthcare in the future if they are used to empower patients to be more proactive about their own healthcare.

Full post as published by Jenkins Webblits on March 12, 2009 (boomark / email).