Critical Summary
“The clinician of the future is learning what makes the world good or bad, right now.”
-Derick L. White
Patient data communication is going digital. Patient portals now offer the kind of functionality that encourage patients to take ownership of their healthcare journey. For years, many clinicians have been frustrated by the risk associated with noncompliant patients and their inattention to post encounter instructions from the clinician. As patient portals and health information exchanges proliferate, and we can engage patients to sign up, more attention to their healthcare journey should follow. The internet age is proof that when a patient is given more information on their health, they become more engaged in the process. The onset of WebMD, healthgrades, fitbit, etc. presented the healthcare community with a new type of patient. Patients today research their symptoms and count their steps. Although, it may take some time, secure messaging about labs and test results will become a part of a comprehensive medical montoring framework that is routine.
In the meantime, we must address all potential risks from the growing pains. AI is not quite there. Such constraints mean that we must keep privacy and data security with all vigilance. Healthcare leaders must use the best of security solutions and processes to avoid loss.
HIEs still have a way to go. Given such limitations, we should approach standardization with a collaborative, yet loose affiliation. With all of the concerns around data ownership, governance, transmission limitations, and costs, flexibilty in our interoperability is key. Our IT leaders know the balance of decentralization versus common formats from their home networks. Employing those same principles in a way that meets the majority of the need is the best approach.
Patient portals are offered with most EHRs. We have an opportunity to meaningfully engage the patient if we can integrate with the social structures that make people want to use their smartphone or personal device. When patients can trust portal tools, then they will provide healthcare workers with the kind of information and motivation that promotes good care outcomes.
No one knows exactly what is on the horizon in healthcare. Nevertheless, we have some understanding about what the future may hold. Clinicians know that shifts are coming in research and precision medicine. Administrators know that regulation is uncertain and payers are essentially standing still to maintain continuity. Government and public policy makers know that the current healthcare economic landscape in still unsustainable and that the ACA only avoided the catastrophic. More legislation, both nullifying and enacting in nature, is necessary. More must be done to lower the costs of coverage and innovation.