[April 23, 2014]

Study Outlines How to Link Health Information Technology, Family Engagement

A new report from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), supported by the Gordon and Betty More Foundation, examines the link between health information technology (HIT) and the need to engage patients and families in their own care. The report outlines how policymakers can leverage HIT to meet the Triple Aim: higher quality, lower cost and patient satisfaction.

Although engaging patients and families in their health and health care is vital to achieving the Triple Aim, successful, widespread implementation of innovative tools has been slow, and HIT tools for patient engagement are often disconnected from the health care system.

The report, Building a Strategy to Leverage Health Information Technology to Support Patient and Family Engagement, centers on four recommendations:

1. Create a comprehensive statement of joint principles to advance the design, development and implementation of HIT tools that help achieve the Triple Aim.

The report maps a coursefor developing and implementing user-centric principles to make HIT more valuable in engaging patients. Besides benefiting patients, integration of user-centric principles could also help policy makers, purchasers and providers.

2. Develop and implement an evaluation framework to target investment and support consumer choice.

The report explains how a defined evaluation framework is critical to understanding HIT's effect on patient engagement, and to creating a national certification program that recognizes high-quality products and services.

3. Advance development of a unified health data integration strategy that prioritizes engagement.

The report recommends building an infrastructure that provides real-time integration of patient-generated data that typically exist in self-contained "silos." These data could be integrated from various settings to optimize population health, improve patient experience and promote cost efficiency.

4. Demonstrate innovative uses of HIT for patient engagement.

The report calls on stakeholders to build knowledge and set priorities that consider patient needs and deliver functions that patients value. A broad initiative that builds on lessons learned can also promote patient engagement through HIT.

"The core idea driving this report is that HIT should be designed around the needs and preferences of patients, and we hope our recommendations will have a substantial impact on how the health care system uses HIT," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "NCQA is committed to creating consensus around important quality issues, and the question of how to link HIT and patient engagement is an area where a unified strategy is most needed."

The report reflects the input of diverse stakeholders and was vetted by a 14-member task force in November 2013.

Click here to access the report.

ABOUT NCQA

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS^®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA's Web site (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

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