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SUSTAINING
E-HEALTH IN CHALLENGING TIMES
Sustaining eHealth in Challenging Times
Report on
the Fourth Annual eHealth Developers’ Summit, April 2003
This report summarizes the discussions held during
the Third Annual eHealth Developers’ Summit in November 2002. Some
key findings include:
- Consumers and health care
organizations are perceived to be the major eHealth players in the
short-term, but government influence on eHealth seems to be
increasing.
- Consumers, with few exceptions,
are still unwilling to pay for online health information or
services, thus consumer-oriented eHealth products will need to
incorporate incentives in their business models so that
intermediaries will pay.
- Web services that enable
beneficiaries to complete administrative tasks are increasingly
embraced by health care organizations as a way to cut costs and
provide more convenient services.
- eHealth applications should not be
thought of as standalone interventions. Rather, they should be
developed and implemented with an understanding and in the context
of the user’s total environment.
- A growing number of developers are
using emerging eHealth technologies outside of the traditional
health care setting, including the home,
workplace,
anywhere at the point of decision and the point of action.
COMPARING STAKEHOLDER VIEWS OF CHRONIC CONDITIONS
Physician, Public, and Policymaker Perspectives on Chronic
Conditions
Reprinted
from Archives of Internal Medicine; February 24, 2003
By
Partnership for Solutions, The Johns Hopkins University, April 2003
The
perceptions of physicians, policymakers and the general public were
compared on how well the current system addresses the needs of
people with chronic conditions.
There was
strong agreement that chronic medical conditions affect men and
women of all ages, ethnicities and income levels (>90% strongly or
somewhat agree). However, compared with the public and physicians,
policymakers were less likely to respond that people with chronic
conditions usually receive adequate medical care, that health
insurance pays for most needed services, or that government programs
are adequate.
WHO
REPORT REVIEWS WAYS TO IMPROVE ADHERENCE
Adherence To Long-Term Therapies: Evidence For Action
World
Health Organization (WHO), March 2003
Some of the
take-home messages include:·
-
Poor adherence
to treatment of chronic diseases is a worldwide problem of
striking magnitude. Adherence to long-term therapy for chronic
illnesses in developed countries averages 50%.
-
The impact of
poor adherence grows as the burden of chronic disease grows
worldwide
-
The
consequences of poor adherence to long-term therapies are poor
health outcomes and increased health care costs
-
Improving
adherence also enhances patients’ safety
-
Increasing the
effectiveness of adherence interventions may have a far greater
impact on the health of the population than any improvement in
specific medical treatments
-
Patient-tailored interventions are required
-
Health
professionals need to be trained in adherence
-
Family,
community and patients’ organizations: a key factor for success in
improving adherence
-
A
multidisciplinary approach towards adherence is needed
DISEASE
MANAGEMENT TELESEMINAR
Learn how
your organization can achieve measurable results when you
participate in "Disease Management Forecasts: Trends, Innovations
and Successful Programs," a live, interactive audio-conference.
This event takes place on Wednesday, April 30th, 2003 at 1:30pm EST
and is sponsored by the Healthcare Intelligence Network.
Speakers
include: ·
-
Steven S.
Eisenberg, MD, Medical Director, Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Minnesota
-
Robert Kolock,
MD, Medical Director, Health Management Corporation
Click
here for details.
HIGH
RISK POOLS -- AN INNOVATION IN CARE MANAGEMENT
High Risk Pools Unite to Prove Benefits of Coordinated Care
Disease
Management News; March 25, 2003
How are
states dealing with the challenges of the sickest of the sick --
people who don't qualify for insurance within traditional health
plan models due to pre-existing medical conditions?
Read about a
breakthrough program developed by The Advanced Care Management Task
Force (ACMTF), a cooperative outcomes research effort between four
members of the National Association of State Comprehensive Health
Insurance Plans (NASCHIP) and Health Integrated. Early results show
improved care, significantly reduced hospital utilization, and
substantial ROI (e.g., 3:1 for CoverColorado).
"It's not how
many advanced ideas you have, it's how many you transform into
life", according to Karen A. Meyer, Chairman, Kaiser Permanente
Health Advisory Council in Denver (ovarian cancer survivor).
ACP
REPORT -- “PHYSICIANS SHOULD BE PAID FOR COMPUTER-BASED CARE”
The Changing Face of Ambulatory Medicine -- Reimbursing Physicians
for Computer-Based Care
American
College of Physicians, March 2003
There is a
wide spectrum of nonurgent patient conditions that could be
effectively managed without the time and expense of an office visit,
through a carefully structured e-consult system focused on
established patients, which gathers all information necessary to
render an informed medical decision, with the added benefits of
automatically documenting the patient–physician encounter while
protecting patient confidentiality.
RECENT
ARTICLES REVIEW TECHNOLOGY ASSISTED CARE MANAGEMENT
A Comparison of Diabetes Education Administered Through Telemedicine
Versus in Person
Diabetes
Care, April 2003
Diabetes
education via telemedicine and in person was equally effective in
improving glycemic control, and both methods were well accepted by
patients. Reduced diabetes-related stress was observed in both
groups. These data suggest that telemedicine can be successfully
used to provide diabetes education to patients.
Effects of Internet Behavioral Counseling on Weight Loss in Adults
at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes
Journal
of the American Medical Association; April 9, 2003
Adding e-mail
counseling to a basic Internet weight loss intervention program
significantly improved weight loss in adults at risk of diabetes.
Patients at
risk for Type 2 diabetes who participated in both an Internet weight
loss program and additional behavioral counseling through e-mail
lost significantly more weight than those who only participated in
the basic Internet program
A Controlled Trial of Web-Based Diabetes Disease Management
Diabetes
Care, March 2003
This
controlled trial evaluated the availability of a web-based
information management and decision support interface. The study
demonstrated modest but significant improvements in several
evidence-based processes of diabetes care, including increased rates
of testing for levels of HbA1c and LDL cholesterol and screening for
foot disease.
PRESCRIPTIONS
FOR EMPLOYERS -- HOW TO MANAGE COSTS AND MAKE EMPLOYEES HAPPY
Creating a Sustainable Health Care Program:
Eighth
Annual Washington Business Group on Health/Watson Wyatt Survey
Report
March,
2003
Some
companies are consistently earning better health care results in
both cost management AND employee satisfaction. These high
performers have gained their competitive advantage because of the
way they view health care benefits, communicate with their
employees, approach "consumerism," respond to their environment and
plan for their future.
High
performers have gained their competitive advantage because of the
way they currently communicate with their employees, respond to
their environment and structure their future. In general, the
differences in approach can be categorized into three domains: 1)
approaches and attitudes concerning consumerism, 2) planning and
strategy, and 3) specific plan design and administrative actions.
EVOLUTION OF MEDICAL MANAGEMENT IS A TOP ISSUE FOR MCOs
Balancing for Success 2003: The Top Issues Facing the Managed Health
Care Industry
Cap
Gemini Ernst & Young; March 10, 2003
The
Continuing Evolution of Medical Management.
The most
promising recent advance in this approach is a movement from
vertical approaches to disease management (i.e., one disease, one
disease management program) to a more horizontal one in which the
care management efforts encompass multiple chronic conditions. Known
as population health management, this involves taking a single
approach to members that have both diabetes and cardiovascular
disease, for example, rather than employing different programs for
each condition.
The
cornerstone of this new approach is the increasing utility of
predictive modeling. Software programs able to incorporate data from
multiple sources and predict which members are most at risk of
developing complications from chronic conditions have improved
considerably in recent years.
THIRD
NATIONAL DISEASE MANAGEMENT SUMMIT
The Third
National Disease Management Summit conference is being held on May
11 - 13, 2003 at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott in Baltimore, MD.
For more information, visit the
Disease Management Conferences website or
click here to view the Summit Schedule.
WORTH
REVIEWING!
My mobile can treat asthma, can yours? Patients can now be
monitored via pocket computers, thanks to telemedicine.
London
Times; April 15, 2003
American Perceptions of Aging in the 21st Century
National
Council on Aging and AARP, March 2003
E-ssentials -- The Next-Generation Health Plan: Not If, but When and
How
Healthplan, March/April 2003
Hearing on Eliminating Barriers to Chronic Care Management in
Medicare
Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Ways & Means, U.S. House of
Representatives; Tuesday, February 25, 2003
IOM Notes Shift to Chronic Care Management
Managed
Care Magazine, February 2003
Diet, Nutrition and The Prevention Of Chronic Diseases
World
Health Organization; March 3, 2003
More Managed Care for Medicare: Health plans join in
demonstration projects
Healthplan, March/April 2003
E-CareManagement News is a
complimentary e-newsletter sent to over 3,000 worldwide readers
courtesy of Better Health Technologies, LLC <http://www.bhtinfo.com/>.
For business and clinical decision
makers who are developing innovative approaches to managing chronic
diseases, Better Health Technologies is an eHealth and disease
management consulting company that can assist you with
strategy/business planning, finding financing, finding initial
customers, and developing key partnerships.
Disclosure --
No clients were mentioned in this issue.
You may copy, reprint or forward all
or part of this newsletter to friends, colleagues or customers, as
long as the use is not for resale or profit and the following
copyright notice is included intact. Copyright © 2003, Better Health
Technologies, LLC. All rights reserved
We welcome your opinions and
comments. Write or call Vince Kuraitis JD, MBA at vincek@bhtinfo.com,
(208) 395-1197 or Harry Leider MD, MBA at harryl@bhtinfo.com, (410)
252-7361.
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