Patient engagement at the point of care: Technology as an enabler

There is a long-standing interest among clinicians and researchers in the healthcare community in the role that patients’ involvement in their healthcare management might play in improving health outcomes and healthcare quality, as well as in controlling the costs of healthcare provision. Recent advances in mobile computing technology make it feasible to scale successful patient engagement programs first delivered in limited face-to-face trials to larger patient populations. However, comparatively little is known about how technology-enabled patient engagement systems might fare in deployments in clinical contexts involved in the treatment of patients with chronic diseases. We initiated a six-month trial with 25 patients to explore patient and provider interactions with one commercially available patient engagement system. We deployed the system comprised of a kiosk, mobile phone and web user interfaces to patients with a primary diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus, type 2 or Hypertension who were receiving care at a large urban medical practice that emphasizes patient engagement. We used a mixed-methods methodology to collect qualitative and quantitative feedback on the use of the technology. We found a large range among patients in their ability to engage through the technology. Physicians were generally interested and positive about the use of the technology. We are currently exploring ways to help both stakeholders improve in incorporating the newly available data into their work practices.