Managing the Information Overload
- Understand the need to connect with patients online.
- Describe the many benefits of an electronic communication and education service-in terms of flexibility, efficiency, and economically.
- Understand what to look for in a communication service and how to implement a service at your hospital.
With just a few taps on a computer keyboard, there is no shortage of health-related data available today. Despite the benefits of having instant access to vast amounts of medical-related information, these resources have created confusion and concern for many individuals as they attempt to separate fact from fiction. Information overload presents the potential for making poor health decisions. This has become a new and pressing problem for healthcare providers.
Proposed change:
In an ongoing effort to help individuals home in on accurate and relevant data, leading healthcare providers are employing web-based communication systems. In addition to delivering pertinent information, web-based campaigns strengthen patient relations and customer loyalty by delivering information quickly and through a medium that most patients prefer. According to The Journal of General Internal Medicine, 67%–78% of US adults have Internet access, 90% of whom prefer to communicate with their physicians electronically. Of those that prefer to communicate with their physicians electronically, 56% say it would influence their choice of physician.
Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:
Recognizing a need for patients to have a single, trusted source from which they receive factual, health-related information, we at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Virginia Health System sought a solution.
Initially intended as a means to provide expecting and new mothers with information specific to their gestational and post-birth development, the hospital's use of an electronic communication platform has evolved to include broader patient communication. The efficiencies gained using the system have also provided some surprising cost savings.
Our communication service allowed us to quickly and easily provide patients with factual information during the H1N1 epidemic earlier this year. We continually use it to promote classes and events, and have completely replaced the need to invest in brochures. We like that it is flexible, efficient, fiscally responsible, and green. But what is most valuable is that our younger patients, Generation Y, anticipate, expect, and prefer their information electronically. They want a fluid interface that provides them the ability to click and be registered for a class or e-mail a question and get a prompt response.
Implications for nursing practice:
From our experience, we believe patients and healthcare facilities can truly benefit from a web-based communication solution that offers regular, automatic, developmentally appropriate content e-mails and e-campaigns.
Keywords:
1. online health information
2. online communication
3. education
4. electronic communication
5. fluid patient/provider interface
6. fiscally responsible communciations
