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More on Emerging Information and Communication Technologies
[By Jennifer Tomasik MS, © iMBA Inc., All rights reserved. USA]
Today’s electronic and social media make possible a certain kind of healthcare intimacy.
ICTs—information and communication technologies—enable 24/7 monitoring of basic information such as blood pressure, glucose levels, pulse, and respiration.
ICTs
In one study, an ICT not only made it easier for patients to stay in touch with their doctors, the outcomes were also significantly better. Today, Hippocrates is no longer trailing patients around the house to keep track of their snacks and moods.
But, Hippocrates has gone digital in the form of a wearable device that records subtle changes in biological markers and communicates them instantaneously to a health provider
Taking a Pause
While this is obviously a great advance, we suggest you pause for a moment before plugging in. Why? ICTs and social media tools can make a difference to one of the most important dimensions—physiological outcomes. But you can have the latest interactive technology at your disposal and still fail to be connected.
Example:
A story that a friend told us shows how. One morning, her elderly father was touching up the paint on his sailboat. Nearby, another boat-owner, who happened to be an emergency medical technician, noticed her father was struggling to breathe and that his lips had turned purple. A trip to the local community hospital led to a barrage of high-tech tests and procedures, a diagnosis of emphysema, later complications with cerebral hematomas, and hospitalizations and re-hospitalizations that brought him into contact with a neurologist, a neurosurgeon, a cardiologist, and a pulmonologist. Throughout her father’s medical ordeal, the team of specialists stayed in touch with each other and the primary care physician via various electronic media.
But, one person remained out of the loop—her father. One day, six months into the experience, the primary care physician phoned our friend’s mother to check on his patient. Her father recalls thinking, “Why was he calling her?” The physician was communicating, but he was emotionally disconnected.
The Moral
The moral of the story: communication needs to be patient-centered in both electronic and psychological terms. That means understanding how someone likes to communicate and making sure the medium fits the message. Electronic media are just part of the equation. The other is the doctor-patient relationship. Once a relationship is established, it may be fine to use e-mail to send information about dosage.
But, delivering a new diagnosis may require the extra effort of scheduling a phone call or a face-to-face visit.
Assessment
Today, since you have so many Health 2.0 choices, it takes some effort to select the right way to communicate in a particular situation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Tomasik is a Principal at CFAR, a boutique management consulting firm specializing in strategy, change and collaboration. Jennifer has worked in the health care sector for nearly 20 years, with expertise in strategic planning, large-scale organizational and cultural change, public health, and clinical quality measurement. She leads CFAR’s Health Care practice. Jennifer has a Master’s in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard School of Public Health. Her clients include some of the most prestigious hospitals, health systems and academic medical centers in the country.
Conclusion
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