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Resource Overview
  • Rationale
  • Challenges
  • Approach

Mobile health (mHealth) tools have the potential to play a pivotal role in fostering a sense of greater patient engagement within underserved populations. By facilitating patient use of mHealth applications in collaboration with electronic health record (EHR) and personal health record (PHR) systems there is an opportunity to empower individuals to take a more active role toward managing their health conditions.

The proliferation of consumer mobile health applications and devices is creating new opprotunities for engaging patients in their care and leaves little doubt as to the impact that these tools will have on the way that people manage their health, health information, and health communications with their care providers, family and friends. This shift to increased self-management of health by consumers will change a patient’s relationship with their doctor and the way healthcare is practiced.
The current laws and standards in place to ensure patient’s privacy and health information security will need further review to determine whether mobile health technologies create unique situations that are not yet addressed. This poses many challenges for health centers as to how best to support patient use of these tools and ways in which to incorporate them into their own clincial support systems.

Mobile health characterizes a shift in the point of care for the patient. The point of care has classically been located at the hospital or clinic. Mobile health is beginning to shift this model so that the point of care is more frequently a matter of where the person happens to be located at that time, consequently providing opportunities for more timely care. It is also important to note that these tools help to increase the accessibility of Healthcare to populations where direct access to Healthcare professionals is limited and so health management is more frequently left in the hands of the consumer.

The tools provide in this resource cover a range of different mobile health tools, strategies, and guidelines for consideration as Health Centers seek to leverage these technologies to better engage and activate their patients.

Mobile Health Resources
Remote Patient Monitoring, Electronic Patient Engagement, and mHealth Apps Explainer
Remote Patient Monitoring, Electronic Patient Engagement, and mHealth Apps Explainer

Remote Patient Monitoring, Electronic Patient Engagement, and mHealth Apps Explainer

Although health centers have more options than ever to use electronic tools to engage patients in care, selecting those that most effectively further the goal of providing high-quality and efficient patient care is challenging. In this explainer, we consider three types of tools that health centers may invest in: Remote Patient Monitoring, Electronic Patient Engagement, and mHealth Personal Apps. By understanding what they are and how they are implemented, their advantages and disadvantages, and how they align with value-based care and the clinical workflow, health centers can choose the suite of tools that best serve their patient needs.

HITEQ Electronic Patient Engagement Tool Selection Rubric
HITEQ Electronic Patient Engagement Tool Selection Rubric

HITEQ Electronic Patient Engagement Tool Selection Rubric

This Excel-based scoring rubric is intended to be used by health centers to assess electronic patient engagement tools (like automated outreach SMS platforms) to determine which tool is most likely to meet the health center's needs.

Bridging the Digital Divide
Bridging the Digital Divide

Bridging the Digital Divide

Lack of Internet and broadband access prevents some patients from using telehealth and other technology that can support their own health care and getting accurate health care information. In one 2020 study, 42 million Americans lacked adequate access to broadband (high speed internet). As of 2019, about one in five people did not have smartphones, and among low income people nearly one third do not have a smartphone. Rates of computer ownership are not much better. Those patients who do have access to the technology may or may not have the capacity and willingness to use it, depending on past experiences. Some patients aren't comfortable with technology, while others don't trust it or believe that virtual care is sub-par, despite growing evidence of its benefits. This culminates in a clear digital divide that can hinder the ability for patients to fully engage in their care or take advantage of things like remote
patient monitoring, telehealth, mHealth, or patient portal.
This resource provides an overview and some tips for assessing a patient's ability to engage with technology for virtual care, and and interventions that can be used to bridge gaps that are uncovered.

Electronic Patient Engagement Tools: Adaptation for Use in COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout
Electronic Patient Engagement Tools: Adaptation for Use in COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout

Electronic Patient Engagement Tools: Adaptation for Use in COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout

Last fall, the HITEQ Center published an inventory describing many software tools that facilitate electronic patient engagement (EPE). The inventory detailed feedback from health center users of the EPE tools as well as information from the vendor about features and integration. As the health center workload has expanded to accommodate COVID-19 vaccination, the opportunity of EPE tools to address the needs of both health center and patients in this moment became apparent. HITEQ contacted the vendors included in the original inventory to gather supplemental information on how their products can be leveraged to support COVID-19 vaccine communication and distribution. Four EPE vendors responded, and those responses are outlined herein.

Safer at Home: Using Remote Patient Monitoring for Patient Care
Safer at Home: Using Remote Patient Monitoring for Patient Care

Safer at Home: Using Remote Patient Monitoring for Patient Care

This resource describes how telehealth, with a focus on Remote Patient Monitoring, is being used during the COVID-19 public health emergency to help keep patients safe at home. Planning, implementation, and financial considerations are provided to assist health centers implementing or optimizing remote patient monitoring (RPM).

Patient Resource: QuestionBuilder App
Patient Resource: QuestionBuilder App

Patient Resource: QuestionBuilder App

The AHRQ QuestionBuilder app helps patients and caregivers prepare for medical appointments and maximize visit time, allowing them to capture questions, photos of needed information such as pill bottles and insurance cards, and even skin conditions.

Opportunities to Improve Diabetes Outcomes through Electronic Patient Engagement
Opportunities to Improve Diabetes Outcomes through Electronic Patient Engagement

Opportunities to Improve Diabetes Outcomes through Electronic Patient Engagement

Electronic patient engagement technologies are having a significant impact on diabetes-related health outcomes and can help to increase patient to provider diabetes care plan involvement and communication. This HITEQ webinar explored use cases and strategies for effective adoption and evaluation of electronic patient engagement diabetes interventions within the health center setting.

HITEQ Health App Decision Tree
HITEQ Health App Decision Tree

HITEQ Health App Decision Tree

There are thousands of consumer health applications (health apps), which run on smartphones, watches, tablets, and other mobile devices. These Health Apps are available for download for general consumers, patients, and healthcare professionals. Currently, there is no governmental agency that provides certification or guidance on health apps, although there are several projects from organizations such as HL7, the FDA, ONC, and OCR that are working to provide guidance. User discrepancy in terms of the validity and safety of the health apps they choose to use are primarily based on ratings or recommendations. This guide seeks to provide a health app decision tree that can assist medical professionals and consumers in making wise choices when using health apps.

Mobile Technology Applications for Agricultural Worker Health Interventions
Mobile Technology Applications for Agricultural Worker Health Interventions

Mobile Technology Applications for Agricultural Worker Health Interventions

Growing numbers of agricultural workers use mobile phones, which presents an opportunity to engage them in healthy behavior interventions. This webinar brings together experts with experience in using mobile technology in agricultural worker communities. 

Mobile Device Security: Managing Cloud-based & Hybrid Solutions in Healthcare Settings
Mobile Device Security: Managing Cloud-based & Hybrid Solutions in Healthcare Settings

Mobile Device Security: Managing Cloud-based & Hybrid Solutions in Healthcare Settings

Many times when we think of mobile health it is in the terms of patient engagement and communication, but it is important for Health Centers to also be familiar with privacy and security concerns as it relates to mobile devices used by providers and staff.

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCOE) has recently provided two new resources that cover movile device security and a catalogue of currently known threats. Both items are available for download from the NCCOE website.

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Acknowledgements

This resource collection was cultivated and developed by the HITEQ team with valuable suggestions and contributions from HITEQ Project collaborators.

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Quadruple Aim

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Improving the U.S. health care system requires four aims: improving the experience of care, improving the health of populations, reducing per capita costs and improving care team well-being. HITEQ Center resources seek to provide content and direction aligned with the goals of the Quadruple Aim

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