Electronic tools can help improve health care processes
1 Nov 2009, 1519 Hrs

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Washington, Nov 1 A new study has revealed that the use of electronic tools and technology applications can significantly help improve people's health care processes.

The researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggest that electronic tools for consumers can help improve their adherence to medication and clinical outcomes like smoking cessation.

Consumer health informatics applications are defined as any electronic tool, technology or electronic application designed to interact directly with consumers, with or without the presence of a health care professional, and that provides or uses individualized (personal) information to help a patient better manage his or her health or health care.

Personalized informatics tools can include applications such as online health calculators, interactive computer programs to aid decision making, SMS text and email messages, which can be applied to a variety of clinical conditions, including cancer, smoking, diabetes mellitus, physical activity and mental health disorders.

The researchers reviewed 146 published research studies of patient-focused electronic tools and found no evidence that consumer health informatics harmed consumers.

In addition, there was insufficient evidence to determine if consumer health informatics provided any economic or cost benefit.

"Consumer electronics are changing the way we shop, bank, communicate and even elect our presidents. We wanted to know if there was any evidence that these types of tools could impact health," said Michael Christopher Gibbons, MD, MPH, lead author and assistant professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Health, Behavior and Society.

"In the future these tools may help make health care much more patient-centered and available when needed and not just available hen the office is open. They may also help us improve health disparities by increasing patient access to health-improving reatments and interventions among the poor and uninsured," he added. (ANI)

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