Catch the Wave—Using the Net for patient care

An in Wednesday’s by Drs. Jerome Groopman and Pamela Hartzband of in Boston, “Obama’s $80 Billion Exaggeration” rightfully questions the savings to be realized from electronic medical records. I agree. It is very hard to quantify the return on investment for computerized health data even though most of us who work in the industry believe it is the right thing to do. America already lags behind other industrialized nations in the use of information technology in healthcare. Further delay in moving from paper records just isn’t defensible in a country that prides itself in being a world leader. But the big savings to be achieved from electronic data and greater use of IT in healthcare won’t come from the record systems themselves, it will come from how technology transforms clinical workflow, collaboration, communication, and the ways we care for our patients.

At least a third of the demand for primary care services comes from people searching for information, needing reassurance, or having a simple question they want answered. Many more visits are generated by people who are instructed to get a simple follow-up after a prior visit to the doctor. Today, our health system provides few alternatives for this besides the traditional “office visit” which is an inherently resource-intensive, inefficient, and very expensive way to care for relatively simple medical issues. Huge savings could be realized if people had alternative avenues to the traditional “office visit” for these simple exchanges of information or services. As I back in December, that’s exactly what is now available to residents in the state of Hawaii.

In January, a new service was launched for all residents in Hawaii that I believe will one day become an integral model for improving the cost, access, and quality of care around the world. It will also go a long way toward improving the satisfaction of both those receiving and providing care.

Heath insurer has teamed with and Microsoft to launch what is likely to be one of the world’s largest pilots for on-line care. Using this service, people can now access a physician from the comfort of their home or office. They can get answers on how to care for minor illnesses or injuries. They can share their health history and medical information, and have it reviewed by a medical expert. They can talk to a specialist. The solution provides access to a physician by telephone or computer including on-line video conferencing so both patient and doctor can see and hear each other. A full range of collaboration tools helps doctors share information, web resources, and other materials during patient encounters. The system also provides full documentation of each encounter and makes it available for future office or on-line visits. Perhaps most important of all is that people now have a service, fully endorsed by their health insurer, that provides compensation to doctors for providing on-line services.

To help medical providers and patients better understand this break-through on-line service, we’ve produced a video. You can watch it by clicking or on the image above. Although this particular service offering is only available to residents of Hawaii, anyone in the country can start using today.

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