Ease of access to Internet means more and more consumers are getting online. In 1998, nearly 18 million people surfed the Internet for health-related products and services. Explosive growth in health care Internet connectivity is predicted for 2000. (Yes it's happening now!) It is estimated that by 2001, 30 million people will be using the Internet for a variety of health care needs.1 What does the explosive growth mean to this industry and to the health information management (HIM) professional?

Read Leveraging Internet Technologies

Canada's e-health journey and HIMSS Analytics' Canada Information and Communications Technology Study (2009 - Healthc Q.) NoFull Text
In spring 2007, HIMSS Analytics began developing its first Canada Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Study. Less than one year later, 38 RHAs, DHAs and HAs are already on board, with some 20 more scheduled to participate by year's end. Why are so many Canadian provincial healthcare delivery organizations now participating in HIMSS Analytics' Canada ICT Study? The answer is tied to the character of the HIMSS study, the value offered to all participants and specific Canadian healthcare issues that are addressed by the study.

US: Interoperable electronic prescribing in the United States: a progress report. (April 2009 - Health Affaires)
Although the vast majority of U.S. physicians still handwrite prescriptions, adoption of electronic prescribing is slowly growing. Major barriers to adoption remain, including the inability to electronically submit prescriptions for controlled substances and confusion about standards for data exchange. Federal and state governments and private insurers are using payment and policy incentives to boost e-prescribing because they still believe in its promise for improving the quality and efficiency of health care. However, additional efforts and further investments are needed to reap the benefits of e-prescribing on a national scale.

Health information technology: dispatches from the revolution. (April 2009 - Health Affairs)
Countries around the world are increasingly employing health information technology (IT). These tools hold the promise of powerful health system breakthroughs from Johannesburg to Jakarta. While implementers multiply, a global e-health consensus framework is beginning to take shape among donors, governments, industries, researchers, and policymakers. As plans are formulated in the United States for substantial new federal investments in health IT, this paper details common threads in national and global health IT discourse. Among them are the need for strong stakeholder engagement, workable policy solutions, funding and donor coordination, and the imperative for adequately addressing standards and interoperability.

Exploring antecedents of consumer satisfaction and repeated search behavior on e-health information (2009 - J Health Commun.)::
E-health information has become an important resource for people seeking health information. Even though many studies have been conducted to examine the quality of e-health information, only a few studies have explored the effects of the information seekers' motivations on the perceived quality of e-health information

User information seeking behaviour: Perceptions and reality. An evaluation of the WHO Labresources Internet portal (2009 - Inform Health Soc Care.)
This article discusses the evaluation of a WHO Internet portal: the Labresources website. The evaluation investigates user satisfaction with the resource, usability, demographic information about users and how well they could complete specific tasks using the website and compared this with the actual online behaviour revealing a number of discrepancies

Technorati Profile

With the help of a $1.8 million investment from Canada Health Infoway’s Innovation and Adoption program, VIHA will implement electronic tools to match clients with mental health and addictions challenges with the most appropriate care in the community.

“Electronic health initiatives are improving and modernizing the delivery of better, faster and safer health care,” said Health Minister George Abbott. “B.C. is leveraging investment and partnership opportunities from Canada Health Infoway to lead the country in developing electronic health information systems and we may see achievements in B.C. replicated in other jurisdictions."

“We are very grateful for Canada Health Infoway’s investment in this innovative project,” Waldner said. “By leveraging VIHA’s electronic health record system and introducing new web-based decision support technology, we can provide our clinicians with comprehensive information at the point of care, allowing them to make the best possible treatment decisions based on their clients’ needs.”

As in many other Canadian jurisdictions, VIHA clinicians do not currently have a standardized method for identifying and recording clients’ needs and risks, nor do they have access to an inventory of services available in the community. With paper-based processes still being used to document clinical information and refer clients to community-based services, transfer of critical health information and treatment can be delayed.

“This is a remarkable example of electronic tools supporting the needs of patients with acute or chronic conditions,” said Richard Alvarez, Infoway’s President and CEO. “This innovative solution will help reduce wait times and lead to more appropriate care and could serve as a model for other jurisdictions across the country,” he added.

With Infoway’s investment, VIHA’s Mental Health and Addictions Services team and Information Management/Information Technology staff will work closely with two of their existing technology providers, Cerner and Strata Health Solutions, to develop standardized electronic assessments forms and decision support tools specific to mental health and addictions needs. Clinicians will document a client’s assessments in Cerner’s PowerChart tool. Using that information, Strata Health’s web-based Strata PathWays’ ™ tool will provide access to a real-time inventory of mental health and addictions services available in the community that meet the needs of the specific client. VIHA expects it will take approximately 24 months to develop, test and implement the new electronic tools and train staff to use the new technology.

Strata PathWays™ is part of the B.C. eHealth initiative to build an integrated, electronic system that improves outcomes for patients by making their specific information available in hospitals, doctor's offices – wherever and whenever they need to seek health care services.

Read more at Canada Health Infoway invests in mental health apps

Who knew Bangladesh was so advanced in their use of health information technology?!?

Computer Meridian Diagnostics (CMD), an internet-based computerised health check-up system, is gaining popularity in Bangladesh (Source: The Daily Star – Bangladesh).

CMD claims to diagnose illness and report on 12 main organs of a human body such as heart, lungs, kidney, liver, gallbladder, stomach, digestive system and pancreas. Reports are generated in as fast as 20 seconds.

CMD technology provides one with the analysis of the latest state of one's health taking readings fingertip skin scrapings. Proponents say the system builds a fitness profile and measures the energy level of 12 vital organs.

Uh-huh. You'll forgive my skepticism on complete health profiles built in 20 seconds based on fingertip samples. Well perhaps there is something to it... this technology was developled my the Russian Space Agency.

The people in Chittagong, Bangladesh, came to know more about the technology when a stall offered CMD check-up facilities at a three-day IT fair. Around 70 people received the CMD check-ups at the stall.

The Bangladesh Softalk Online Private Limited, a Dhaka-based software firm, was the first to launch the system which originated in Europe. At present, 23 centres in Bangladesh offer CMD testing.

Professor Dr. Hasanuzzaman Bhuiyan, working at Preventive Health Care, said scientists and researchers in China, Japan, Germany and Soviet Union developed the CMD system after 35 years research at the Russian Space Agency.

If the Soviets started it then it has to be good, right?

Read more about Online health check-up gains popularity

(By Dr. Mike Evans, From Saturday's Globe and Mail, Dr. Google is in)

Heather Copeland had a bad rash. It hurt even before you could see it. It was just on one side, blistery, and very red. Heather's mother had a similar affliction 10 years ago. Heather and her mom both had shingles. The only difference between Heather and her mother was that Heather knew exactly what it was before she went to the doctor. Heather has something her mother never had: Dr. Google.

A just-released survey by Pew Internet and American Life reveals that the next time the average person is seeking reliable information about a health problem, they are more likely to first turn to the Internet for an answer before their health-care provider.

As the number of people turning to cyberspace for help increases, so does their faith in the results. Research in the esteemed Journal of the American Medical Association showed that patients perceived (which may be different than the truth) that the Web increased their understanding and allowed them to self-manage their acute or chronic problems 30 per cent of the time.

Why wouldn't you visit Dr. Google? She is accessible, available 24/7 and has all the time in the world for you. No waiting room filled with coughing people. No speculums or rubber gloves -- in fact, none of that yucky physical exam stuff.

More on Dr. Google is in

(Las Vegas – Forum for Healthcare Strategists) Healthcare technology is delivering wins for providers and patients.

Here are just some of the case study success highlights from the Forum for Healthcare Strategists in Las Vegas:

Consumer health & wellness

• 72% of all online adults searched for health information in 2005 (WSJ/Harris Interactive – cited by Greystone.net)³
• Approximately 57% of users indicate they have discussed online health information with their physicians (Manhattan Research – cited by Greystone.net)³
• Health website user priorities according to Harris Interactive (cited by Greystone.net)³
• Ask question that doesn’t require a visit (77%)
• Schedule/ Cancel appointments (71%)
• Refill a prescription (71%)
• Receive test/lab results (70%)

Electronic Health Record (eHR)

Sutter Health has spent millions of dollars on their her system, but the rewards have been high. “We absolutely believe that eHR has more than paid for itself,” says Cecilia Montalvo, a VP with Sutter.

• Mammogram completion rates (Sutter Health patients) more than double with those patients who use electronic health records (eHR); and more than quadruple when the patient receives an e-mail reminder (Sutter Health²)
• Older patients (Sutter Health) are more likely to use eHR with the highest enrolment and use by age skew is 60-69 years old (about 10% of patients that are 80-89, and 90+ years old are using eHR)²
• 96% of patients (Sutter Health) using online messaging with their physicians and e-visits are satisfied or very satisfied with their eHR system²
• 90% of physicians (Sutter Health) are satisfied or very satisfied with their eHR system²

Here’s a telling quote from a Sutter Health patient using their eHR system called PAMFOnline²: “I do not put off appointments or asking my doctor a question.  I can ask a question and find out if I need to come in, have a lab test or that nothing is needed. I feel so secure that I can message Dr. S. – he responds so fast – and with my medical problems fear is one of the worst things I deal with. Know my doctor is an (eHR) message away comforts me. He is the best!”

Return on Investment

• By implementing a ‘targeted knowledge transfer’ (TKT) system, Bon Secours Health System was able to enhance revenue and reduce costs by $54 million¹.
• The Internet as a physician referral marketing channel is second only to Yellow Pages in generating revenue from marketing activities (almost $1.2 million) for UK Healthcare⁴

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¹ The Marketing Challenge: Technology Trends & Transition, Michele van Zuiden and Stephanie McCutcheon, HealthTech

² A Technology Milestone: Getting Patients Online, Cecilia Montalvo & Bill Black, MD, PhD, Sutter Health 

³ The Broadband Media Strategy, Michael Schneider and Robin Snow, Greystone.net

⁴ Demonstrating Marketing and Communication Accountability, William R. Gombeski Jr., Director, Strategic Marketing, UK HealthCare