News Feature | September 18, 2013

Patient Engagement Tips For MU

Source: Health IT Outcomes
Katie Wike

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

Meaningful Use requires providers reach a certain level of patient engagement; involving patients in their own healthcare is key

Despite being delayed once, and with pleas to delay it again, Stage 2 Meaningful Use (MU) is set to take effect in 2014. Providers are going to be required to provide the ability to view online, download, and transmit health information to at least 50 percent of all unique patients seen by the EP. Additionally, more than 5 percent of all unique patients seen by the EP during the EHR reporting period will need to view, download , or transmit to a third party their health information. Failure to meet these requirements will result in payment adjustments to Medicare reimbursements that start at 1 percent per year and escalate up to a maximum of 5 percent.

Patient engagement is vital if a provider is going to meet these upcoming MU requirements and avoid the penalties for failing to do so. Government Health IT offers three patient engagement lessons learned the HITECH Act-created Beacon Communities.

  • Select the right technology: Technology that supports both patient and provider needs is the first step to meaningful patient engagement. The portal programs need to be easy to navigate for patients or they will be unlikely to use them. Consider mobile - Health IT Outcomes reports a recent survey shows one-third of patients are open to mobile access of health records.
  • Use “beer and pretzel” language: Speak in a manner that will make patients feel more at ease as technical terms overwhelm patients, and select the best means to communicate. According to Teresa Youkin, community engagement manager at Geisinger Health System, a simple phone call was sometimes the best way to communicate with patients who did not need to come into the office but also were not comfortable communicating via email. Youkin told Government Health IT that the best communication is “beer and pretzels language,” or communication in terms patients and doctors can both understand.
  • Avoid registration overload: “A key foundation of accountable care is information exchange, which under HIPAA requires patient consent,” writes Government Health IT. “Health systems and HIEs have experimented with opt-in or opt-out consents – framing the choice as either being able to sign up or being automatically signed up unless otherwise opting out. But one variable that may not have been widely considered is how and when the consent is offered.” Doreen Salek, director of case management at the Keystone Beacon Community and an RN at Geisinger, suggests “using a trusted care team member to explain what the consent form actually meant – that a patient’s information will follow them the next time they seek or need healthcare.”