5 Buckets to Patient Engagement and the Role of HIT

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA What is patient engagement? Patient engagement is a connection between patient, caregiver and health care provider.  A trusted relationship forms and mutual respect is fostered.  Patients and their families are empowered and they are active in health care decisions.  However, patient engagement begins before the initial interaction with health care providers. When patients and consumers recognize the need to be in charge of their health, patient engagement evolves.  Patients…

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Patient Engagement and Health IT – Social Media Voices

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Four active social media influencers share their voices to define patient engagement and comment on why digital technology is important for the doctor/patient and caregiver relationship. What is patient engagement and how important is digital technology for the doctor/patient relationship? Twitter Jody Schoger @jodyms Writer, blogger. Optimist. Cancer Advocate. Working for a better world, one word at a time. The Woodlands, Texas • http://womenwcancer.blogspot.com/ The only person with the…

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Healthin30 to Host Grand Rounds and Highlight Best Health Technology Blogs

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Grand Round Submission Guidelines Grand Rounds is a weekly summary of the best health care writing online.  It features stories, opinions and analysis from doctors, nurses, patients, researchers and administrators, as well as journalists. Each Tuesday, a different blogger takes the helm, publishing a new edition of Grand Rounds on their site. Each edition features the host’s picks for the ten best healthcare links of the week. Recently USA…

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Can Mobile Devices Help Connect the Dots for Better Health Care?

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Educating patients through texting Mobile technology may help to transform the lives of patients and provide a stronger partnership with health care providers. I received a text message from my mobile service provider regarding a quick survey as a follow-up to a phone conversation I had with one of their representatives. The first text thanked me for calling the customer care center and said, “We’ll text you shortly for…

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Social Media: Sharecare’s Twitter Chat Educates for Heart Health

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Social media is a powerful platform to help educate consumers and provide valuable and trustworthy information.  Twitter Chat’s are a popular real-time question and answer session. Join us today, February 22, 2012 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST (9 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST) for Sharecare’s Twitter chat on heart health. Dr. Carolina Valdiviezo-Shlomp from Johns Hopkins and Dr. Samin Sharma from The Mount Sinai Medical Center will…

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