We will engage in a lively discussion of powering technology to drive patient engagement across the continuum of care. We invite leaders from health systems to share how they are using technology to engage digitally with patients, families, and communities. We will openly share our struggles and successes of using technology to achieve a level of engagement that supports outcomes and a value-based payment model.

Healthcare organizations across the country are building and buying innovative patient engagement tools and strategies in order to remain competitive and meet the ever-demanding need of consumers. Patients expect and want to interact more with hospitals through digital channels like email, apps and social media rather than interacting on a traditionally personal level with clinical and financial back office staff. In response to this need, healthcare technologies are increasingly becoming more patient-facing and are driving toward consumer-centered healthcare. Use of patient engagement technology, access to full medical records via EHRs, and other digital communication tools are significant determinants of high patient satisfaction.

What is your comprehensive digital patient engagement strategy? Build vs. buy and why? What challenges have you encountered in aligning to your organization’s strategy? What most concerns you about patient interaction and engagement? Describe the technology your organization uses to engage with patients, families, and communities. Is the technology you are using successful? Why or why not? What technical interoperability is in place to support your strategy (integration with EMR, use of HL7, open APIs, 3rd party vendor tools, etc.)? What is your long-term patient engagement objectives? How are you sharing a patient’s personal health information (PHI) with them? To what capacity?

Kathy Contratto MBA, Director, Healthcare IT Consulting Practice, RSM

Mariano Botta, Director, Healthcare IT Practice, RSM