Patient Provider Communication : Using IT to facilitate Information Therapy

True engagement comes about through two-way, mutually beneficial conversations.

Technology must look to create multiple ways to facilitate both formal and informal Patient- Doctor Communication. The telephone made a huge impact on the way we communicate, and so did email. Newer technologies must be used to offer ease of use, increase reach and lower costs. Many providers today communicate with their patients using skype, google chat and even facebook. Technologies must build on such success stories. 

Doctor–Patient Communication will also benefit if technology vendors link Communication mechanisms to Provider Information Sources and Health Information Exchanges

-- Provide integrations of these mechanisms with clinical and diagnostic software (EMR's, EHR's , etc)

-- Emailing of schedules and reports to patients is a must.

-- Using SMS to send Medical alerts, reminders, and schedules

-- Go the extra distance and use Social Media to provide alerts and reminders to patients via Facebook Messages, Twitter DM's, etc.

This is the 4th Article in a series of Articles on Using IT to facilitate Information Therapy by Nrip Nihalani and Aditya Patkar .