Engaging Consumers in Health IT

Whether presenters were talking about "Cloud Computing," "Care Coordination," or "Population Health Management," empowering the patient was the paradigm.

While there were many useful and informative presentations focusing on modernizing health information, embracing mobility, managing data, leveraging innovation, re-designing work flow, to transforming health through health information innovation, to electronic health records and cloud computing; the one common denominator was the patient.

The one constant is you

Since the one constant is you, the consumer, the need to include you through the health ecosystem and research road map is paramount for companies building their brands and making head way in this lightning-fast technological world.

While better outcomes and quality patient care is the backbone of any hospital or health care organization, implementing innovation that makes consumers' lives better, simply makes sense.

I asked Praveen Soti, M.D., MBA, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at CGI Federal and Board Chair of the MSHUG Advisory Committee, how important is patient engagement when it comes to health care research.

What research solution one implements

No matter what research solution one implements, one fact is constant, "patients will only trust their physician or loved ones when it comes to making healthcare decisions." Patient engagement is thoroughly vital for achieving sustained improvements in quality of care and cost savings, he said.Today's Patients

You can create a free account on HealthVault and begin your journey into the world of innovation by using tools to keep you and your family's health records organized and accessible. You can choose to share this data with your doctor, with your family and caregivers. You can upload data through a health and fitness device, track your information, track your prescriptions, connect with your pharmacy and manage your chronic conditions.

The lives of consumers

So during companies forge ahead developing cutting-edge research to help improve the lives of consumers and find solutions for better patient outcomes; companies have you in mind.

We would love to hear from you. What are your thoughts on health information research? Do you care? Do you use a personals health record to manage your health information? What's your experience like? What would you like companies to be aware of when it comes to your health? Please share your stories with us.