Are you engaging with your urology patients electronically?
Web-based communication has become increasingly important for creating a more effective patient experience.
Key Points
More than information retrieval
Lombardi describes two types of Web sites that are most prevalent in the health care industry today: static sites and interactive sites. The traditional Web site of the Web 1.0 era is what we would consider a static Web site. These "brochureware" sites may look great at first glance, but in reality, they offer no more value to patients than a business card and a tri-fold, tri-color brochure on expensive card stock. Patients may take a peek once or twice, but they won't stay long and will rarely return. Lombardi quotes a technology business saying: "It will not make the eyeballs stick or the phone ring."
By comparison, Lombardi points out that an interactive Web site is designed with the patient in mind. Where Web 1.0 focused on one-way communication, Web 2.0 defines the more interactive and dynamic phase of the World Wide Web and has opened up a new avenue in which patients can participate and even manage their health through improved patient-practice communication.
Data-driven health care: Who it will benefit, and how
September 1st 2012Early adopters of health information technology have been creating electronic health records for over 10 years. With the creation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and its incentives, the pace of clinical data accumulation is accelerating.
What is cloud computing, and how can it help your urology practice?
August 1st 2012Storing data remotely allows for access from anywhere using the Internet, so, for example, a cloud-based EMR allows urologists in your practice to access and update charts from home or on the road using a smartphone or tablet.
'Meaningful use' of an EHR system: How to achieve it in your urology practice
February 1st 2012This article defines meaningful use, lists the elements necessary to qualify for those elusive meaningful use incentives, and helps you decide whether and when your practice might want to engage in the process of EHR implementation.
Electronic medical record modification allows for automated data retrieval
October 1st 2011Urologists at Cleveland Clinic have undertaken a pilot program involving modification of a commercial electronic medical record (EMR) system to facilitate clinical research and clinical practice outcomes analysis in a way that overcomes the obstacles presented by the record-keeping technology.
