Mayo Clinic’s tweet chat on the patient of the future (#POTF) elicited a good discussion Tuesday with tweeple chiming in on patients’ rising technological expectations of their providers, 24/7 communication capability, remote monitoring and the ability to garner respect from doctors.
Three questions were debated during the chat: What will the patient of the future demand from his or her provider? What changes to the healthcare system must occur in order to meet the demands of such a patient? And what innovations in healthcare will empower the patient of the future?
Here are some notable answers each referring back to question 1, 2 and 3:
Q1: The ability to be monitored and treated by my provider without the need to always physically visit the doctor’s office. #POTF — Ken Congdon (@KenOnHIT) June 5, 2012
Advertisement
Q1: I think #POTF will expect more e-accessibility. My PCP retired last yr was not on e-mail. My new doc has pt. message portal & I love it. — Jackie Fox (@jackiefox12) June 5, 2012
Q1: If a pt sees a provider not in their home medical community, that their medical information is accessible my new provider. #POTF — Barb Sorensen (@b_sorensen) June 5, 2012
Q1: Increased cross-communication between PCP & Specialist. Not just a note, real conversations to ensure total patient coverage.#Potf — FabulousandSick (@FabulousandSick) June 5, 2012
Q1: Not so much future, but #POTF will expect dr’s respect & partnership–and let’s remember that’s a 2-way street. — Jackie Fox (@jackiefox12) June 5, 2012
Q1: #POTF agreed — we need better communication all around! More focus on prevention, not just correction. — Paninya Masrangsan (@paninya_m) June 5, 2012
Q1: Hopefully will receive better/more regenerative medicine and scientific/evidence-based medicine. #POTF — Richard G. Lanzara (@rlanzara) June 5, 2012
Q2: If we start to know the patient when they are sick we missed an opportunity to really know them #POTF — Meredith DeZutter (@meredithdez) June 5, 2012
Q2: Ensure quick follow up between primary provider and specialists. Results of tests should be shared in hours/days and not weeks. #POTF — Barb Sorensen (@b_sorensen) June 5, 2012
Q2: find ways to safely use SM where privacy concerns are properly addressed so all docs looking at the SAME things #potf — AnneMarie Ciccarella (@chemobrainfog) June 5, 2012
Q3: quantified self. data visualization. interaction design. user centered design. design thinking. multidisciplinary integration. #POTF — Gene Moy (@genemoy) June 5, 2012
Q3: Hard to envision pats who are ill/post-op/debilitated due 2 procedures having stamina/concentration 2 use twitchy mobile apps ;-)#POTF — PenelopeM (@CalliopeCo) June 5, 2012
Q3 Sensors everywhere – quantitative patient data. Ubiquitous internet access. #POTF — Rina Rudyanto (@linuxmonkey) June 5, 2012
By Arundhati Parmar
Arundhati Parmar is the Medical Devices Reporter at MedCity News. She has covered medical technology since 2008 and specialized in business journalism since 2001. Parmar has three degrees from three continents - a Bachelor of Arts in English from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India; a Masters in English Literature from the University of Sydney, Australia and a Masters in Journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago. She has sworn never to enter a classroom again.More posts by Author
I would hope #POTF would demand to be the primary user of their physician's EHR. As a physician I've always felt that until the patient used the same system we'd never fully get a rerturn on our EHR investments. I've asked that my nurse and physician patients who use our system go into their records before any visit, update and make sure everything is correct. Then once checked in I've had them start a note either in the exam room or before being roomed to make sure everything on their agenda is addressed during the visit. Those that do this help us work together with the least amount of work to get their issues addressed and solved. It's magical and I can't think of any reason why EHR software vendors aren't designing their systems in this #B2C format. Might have the opportunity to bend the cost curve.