Blue River Home Care Blue River Home Care is a for-profit home care agency affil
ID: 374927 • Letter: B
Question
Blue River Home Care
Blue River Home Care is a for-profit home care agency affiliated with the Blue River Hospital, a private 60-bed hospital. The agency is an early adopter of tele homecare services that are now integrated into the care plans of patients suffering from chronic diseases. The telehomecare technology integrates data from portable monitoring devices, including spirometers, blood pressure cuffs, digital weight scales, and videophones. After eight years, the agency is beginning to reap the benefits of investing in the telehomecare infrastructure, which enhances the quality of delivered services and reduces costs. Specifically, regular patient monitoring enabled by technology has reduced the staff’s travel costs and time, made scheduling home care visits more efficient, and (in many cases) intervened proactively to prevent adverse events. Thus far, it is too early to tell if rehospitalization rates for home care patients with chronic conditions will be reduced, given that the technology enables early detection of symptoms and signs, but anecdotal evidence of such reductions is positive.
Currently, Blue River’s administration is looking for ways to keep pace with emerging technologies, which would give the agency a competitive advantage. The leaders are examining the integration of a PHR and a health social network site into the existing telehomecare infrastructure. Proposed features of this social network include the ability for patients to access and manage their personal health information, for patients to find and connect with others with similar conditions for support and sharing, and for family members and caregivers to participate in virtual support groups. Blue River has held informal meetings with its healthcare providers regarding this plan. While some clinicians are supportive of the communication and information opportunities that the plan will afford patients and their caregivers, other clinicians have some worries, including the following:
The health social network site might propagate unreliable or wrong information.
PHR integration could pose privacy (and thus liability) risks.
Patients may not use the site.
Physician compensation could be affected (and how so) by the online patient–clinician interaction.
Patients, especially older adults and those without experience with technology, may find using the PHR and the site to enter, manage, and find health information (especially to improve health literacy) difficult.
These reactions are indicative of the diverse views and attitudes of healthcare providers, administrators, patients, and family members toward consumer health applications.
Solutions and Considerations
Following are factors Blue River (and other healthcare organizations) should consider and discuss when proposing and implementing an integrated PHR and health social network site:
• Communication between patients and their formal and informal caregivers will greatly improve. This, in turn, may lead to better health outcomes because such a system would
1. form or strengthen the social support for patients,
2. serve as an early detection tool of new health or medical events,
3. ease care coordination across various caregivers and care net- works, and
4. increase the patient’s feeling of independence.
• The viewpoint of each stakeholder group should be solicited and taken into account.
• The potential benefits of an integrated PHR and health social network site may be offset by problems introduced by the new technology.
• More information may be available to patients but they may not know how to interpret it for decision-making purposes. Most patients lack medical knowledge, so health research findings, notes, discussion, and other information could confuse or be misunderstood by the patients. The same holds true for family members who have access to their loved one’s PHR and social network profile.
• Different approaches to integrating PHRs and health social networks should be tried. For example, patients may be left to own, manage, and control their own data, but first the organization should develop a web portal that enables patients to access, annotate, or share their own information. This may address the patients’ desire and willing- ness to play a more active role in their own healthcare.
• The technology will introduce new privacy and information reliability issues. Specifically, family members’ access to their loved one’s information and the ability of other members of the social network to view each other’s profile or pages could breach a person’s privacy and confidentiality. In addition, with the patient in charge of his PHR, concerns about the reliability of the available information will emerge and will affect the provider’s clinical decision making.
• The organization must assess the usability and compatibility of sys- tem interfaces, regardless of whether the system or software was purchased from a vendor or created for the institution’s use. It can- not be difficult to operate or navigate, especially for frail or elderly people (as is the case for Blue River) or those with little or no experience with technology or computers. User friendliness must be maximized to enable and encourage access to the system. Initial and ongoing training and customer support must be offered whenever feasible.
• Because the proposed integrated PHR and health social network site is touted to facilitate frequent communication among members of the network and allow patients to get involved in the decision-making process, the organization should build an IT infrastructure that supports these functions.
• To gain institutional support, leadership must demonstrate that the new system will yield concrete benefits for the organization and its staff (such as increased marketability and competitiveness, improved quality of care, and reduced inefficiencies) without placing undue burden or additional tasks on the staff. Furthermore, leadership must show evidence that the proposed system has proven effective in other clinical settings or similar organizations.
QUESTIONS!!!!!!!
1) Name some of the challenges in ensuring continuity of care for patients with chronic conditions. How can emerging technologies solve or at least ease these challenges?
2)List some of the benefits of integrating a PHR with a health social network sites for patients with chronic illness, their caregivers, and the organization.
3) Name the specific impacts of adopting e-health and social media applications on the structure and strategies of a healthcare organization.
4) How might the adoption of an integrated PHR and health social network site change the interaction and relationship between patients and health professionals?
Explanation / Answer
1. Lack of proper communication channels are the main challenges that has been faced by many care homes and hospitals in providing continual medical care for patients. By setting up a home-based communication system, care homes and health systems will be able to overcome this major challenge to a great extent. The tele-home care is one such technology that is designed to solve this challenge and continue medical care to the patients with critical illness even after they are discharged to their homes. Various medical tests and integrated into the home based communication system. The technology in the home based system will help the medical team to source the relevant information from devices like spirometers, blood pressure cuffs, videophones and other monitoring devices for these patients. Thus these new technologies are expected to solve many of the issues in continuing the medical care to the critically ill patients.
2. There are many potential benefits which can be derived by integrating PHR system with health and social networking media with patients, caregivers and the organization. As a result of the improved communication with the patients and the care givers, numerous benefits could be reaped. Patients could avail better support from the caregivers in order to improve their conditions. Such improved interactions will lead the medical team to detect various other health issues. It will also improve the level of co-ordination and networking between caregivers, and other networking sites. The patients will be able to interact with other patients who are having similar chronic illness, they will be able to support each other. This eases the stress in the patients, enabling and motivating them to take better care of themselves. They also become more confident about themselves and become more independent.
3. Integrating the PHR system with the health system can have positive as well as negative impacts on the structural capacity and strategies of a health care system. The new technology may pose threat to the privacy and reliability concerns to data. Further, before integrating the final version of PHR system, the health care system has to test different approaches for integrating patient information to the system. For instance, the organization have to launch a web portal initially where the patients could access and enter their data. All these procedures require a substantial amount of fund allocation. This will change the cash flow and fund allocation of the organization and have an impact on their operational as well as strategic goals.
The health care system has to provide training to the patients, care givers and physicians to make the system accustomed to them. They have to offer customer support and continuous training in order to make the system friendly to the users. These are going to take much time, resources of the health care system.
Because of improved and continued medical care, the chances of re-hospitalization will be reduced. It will be advantageous to the patients but it may not be not so beneficial to the physicians and hospitals in terms of economies because the earnings of the physicians will be reduced which will in turn affect the revenue generation of the hospitals.
Before purchasing the software from the vendor or during trying different approaches for the PHR system, the organization has to decide based on ‘make or buy’ concept. That is whether they have to buy the product from the vendor or make or modify their existing Management Information Systems or Customer Relationship Management systems.
These decisions should be based on their financial strategies as well as cost-benefit analysis.
4. With the adoption of PHR systems, the relationship between patients and health care professionals will definitely improve. The PHR system will make the interactions easier, quick and saves the time of patients and health professionals. The physical interactions will get reduced but there will be more communication between the patients via online. Patients could expect better support from the health team, with regard to guidance and diagnosis of health issues. The virtual or online relationship between patients and health team will improve. But there may not the actual intimacy and sharing of feelings which a personal interaction could provide.
1. Lack of proper communication channels are the main challenges that has been faced by many care homes and hospitals in providing continual medical care for patients. By setting up a home-based communication system, care homes and health systems will be able to overcome this major challenge to a great extent. The tele-home care is one such technology that is designed to solve this challenge and continue medical care to the patients with critical illness even after they are discharged to their homes. Various medical tests and integrated into the home based communication system. The technology in the home based system will help the medical team to source the relevant information from devices like spirometers, blood pressure cuffs, videophones and other monitoring devices for these patients. Thus these new technologies are expected to solve many of the issues in continuing the medical care to the critically ill patients.
2. There are many potential benefits which can be derived by integrating PHR system with health and social networking media with patients, caregivers and the organization. As a result of the improved communication with the patients and the care givers, numerous benefits could be reaped. Patients could avail better support from the caregivers in order to improve their conditions. Such improved interactions will lead the medical team to detect various other health issues. It will also improve the level of co-ordination and networking between caregivers, and other networking sites. The patients will be able to interact with other patients who are having similar chronic illness, they will be able to support each other. This eases the stress in the patients, enabling and motivating them to take better care of themselves. They also become more confident about themselves and become more independent.
3. Integrating the PHR system with the health system can have positive as well as negative impacts on the structural capacity and strategies of a health care system. The new technology may pose threat to the privacy and reliability concerns to data. Further, before integrating the final version of PHR system, the health care system has to test different approaches for integrating patient information to the system. For instance, the organization have to launch a web portal initially where the patients could access and enter their data. All these procedures require a substantial amount of fund allocation. This will change the cash flow and fund allocation of the organization and have an impact on their operational as well as strategic goals.
The health care system has to provide training to the patients, care givers and physicians to make the system accustomed to them. They have to offer customer support and continuous training in order to make the system friendly to the users. These are going to take much time, resources of the health care system.
Because of improved and continued medical care, the chances of re-hospitalization will be reduced. It will be advantageous to the patients but it may not be not so beneficial to the physicians and hospitals in terms of economies because the earnings of the physicians will be reduced which will in turn affect the revenue generation of the hospitals.
Before purchasing the software from the vendor or during trying different approaches for the PHR system, the organization has to decide based on ‘make or buy’ concept. That is whether they have to buy the product from the vendor or make or modify their existing Management Information Systems or Customer Relationship Management systems.
These decisions should be based on their financial strategies as well as cost-benefit analysis.
4. With the adoption of PHR systems, the relationship between patients and health care professionals will definitely improve. The PHR system will make the interactions easier, quick and saves the time of patients and health professionals. The physical interactions will get reduced but there will be more communication between the patients via online. Patients could expect better support from the health team, with regard to guidance and diagnosis of health issues. The virtual or online relationship between patients and health team will improve. But there may not the actual intimacy and sharing of feelings which a personal interaction could provide.
1. Lack of proper communication channels are the main challenges that has been faced by many care homes and hospitals in providing continual medical care for patients. By setting up a home-based communication system, care homes and health systems will be able to overcome this major challenge to a great extent. The tele-home care is one such technology that is designed to solve this challenge and continue medical care to the patients with critical illness even after they are discharged to their homes. Various medical tests and integrated into the home based communication system. The technology in the home based system will help the medical team to source the relevant information from devices like spirometers, blood pressure cuffs, videophones and other monitoring devices for these patients. Thus these new technologies are expected to solve many of the issues in continuing the medical care to the critically ill patients.
2. There are many potential benefits which can be derived by integrating PHR system with health and social networking media with patients, caregivers and the organization. As a result of the improved communication with the patients and the care givers, numerous benefits could be reaped. Patients could avail better support from the caregivers in order to improve their conditions. Such improved interactions will lead the medical team to detect various other health issues. It will also improve the level of co-ordination and networking between caregivers, and other networking sites. The patients will be able to interact with other patients who are having similar chronic illness, they will be able to support each other. This eases the stress in the patients, enabling and motivating them to take better care of themselves. They also become more confident about themselves and become more independent.
3. Integrating the PHR system with the health system can have positive as well as negative impacts on the structural capacity and strategies of a health care system. The new technology may pose threat to the privacy and reliability concerns to data. Further, before integrating the final version of PHR system, the health care system has to test different approaches for integrating patient information to the system. For instance, the organization have to launch a web portal initially where the patients could access and enter their data. All these procedures require a substantial amount of fund allocation. This will change the cash flow and fund allocation of the organization and have an impact on their operational as well as strategic goals.
The health care system has to provide training to the patients, care givers and physicians to make the system accustomed to them. They have to offer customer support and continuous training in order to make the system friendly to the users. These are going to take much time, resources of the health care system.
Because of improved and continued medical care, the chances of re-hospitalization will be reduced. It will be advantageous to the patients but it may not be not so beneficial to the physicians and hospitals in terms of economies because the earnings of the physicians will be reduced which will in turn affect the revenue generation of the hospitals.
Before purchasing the software from the vendor or during trying different approaches for the PHR system, the organization has to decide based on ‘make or buy’ concept. That is whether they have to buy the product from the vendor or make or modify their existing Management Information Systems or Customer Relationship Management systems.
These decisions should be based on their financial strategies as well as cost-benefit analysis.
4. With the adoption of PHR systems, the relationship between patients and health care professionals will definitely improve. The PHR system will make the interactions easier, quick and saves the time of patients and health professionals. The physical interactions will get reduced but there will be more communication between the patients via online. Patients could expect better support from the health team, with regard to guidance and diagnosis of health issues. The virtual or online relationship between patients and health team will improve. But there may not the actual intimacy and sharing of feelings which a personal interaction could provide.
1. Lack of proper communication channels are the main challenges that has been faced by many care homes and hospitals in providing continual medical care for patients. By setting up a home-based communication system, care homes and health systems will be able to overcome this major challenge to a great extent. The tele-home care is one such technology that is designed to solve this challenge and continue medical care to the patients with critical illness even after they are discharged to their homes. Various medical tests and integrated into the home based communication system. The technology in the home based system will help the medical team to source the relevant information from devices like spirometers, blood pressure cuffs, videophones and other monitoring devices for these patients. Thus these new technologies are expected to solve many of the issues in continuing the medical care to the critically ill patients.
2. There are many potential benefits which can be derived by integrating PHR system with health and social networking media with patients, caregivers and the organization. As a result of the improved communication with the patients and the care givers, numerous benefits could be reaped. Patients could avail better support from the caregivers in order to improve their conditions. Such improved interactions will lead the medical team to detect various other health issues. It will also improve the level of co-ordination and networking between caregivers, and other networking sites. The patients will be able to interact with other patients who are having similar chronic illness, they will be able to support each other. This eases the stress in the patients, enabling and motivating them to take better care of themselves. They also become more confident about themselves and become more independent.
3. Integrating the PHR system with the health system can have positive as well as negative impacts on the structural capacity and strategies of a health care system. The new technology may pose threat to the privacy and reliability concerns to data. Further, before integrating the final version of PHR system, the health care system has to test different approaches for integrating patient information to the system. For instance, the organization have to launch a web portal initially where the patients could access and enter their data. All these procedures require a substantial amount of fund allocation. This will change the cash flow and fund allocation of the organization and have an impact on their operational as well as strategic goals.
The health care system has to provide training to the patients, care givers and physicians to make the system accustomed to them. They have to offer customer support and continuous training in order to make the system friendly to the users. These are going to take much time, resources of the health care system.
Because of improved and continued medical care, the chances of re-hospitalization will be reduced. It will be advantageous to the patients but it may not be not so beneficial to the physicians and hospitals in terms of economies because the earnings of the physicians will be reduced which will in turn affect the revenue generation of the hospitals.
Before purchasing the software from the vendor or during trying different approaches for the PHR system, the organization has to decide based on ‘make or buy’ concept. That is whether they have to buy the product from the vendor or make or modify their existing Management Information Systems or Customer Relationship Management systems.
These decisions should be based on their financial strategies as well as cost-benefit analysis.
4. With the adoption of PHR systems, the relationship between patients and health care professionals will definitely improve. The PHR system will make the interactions easier, quick and saves the time of patients and health professionals. The physical interactions will get reduced but there will be more communication between the patients via online. Patients could expect better support from the health team, with regard to guidance and diagnosis of health issues. The virtual or online relationship between patients and health team will improve. But there may not the actual intimacy and sharing of feelings which a personal interaction could provide.