Cortney Nicolato, Get Real Health’s Vice President of Healthcare Strategies, has contributed to an article entitled “Patient Centric Tools for Better Diabetes Self-Management” that was published in MDAdvisor, the journal for the New Jersey medical community.
The article addresses the “meaningful use” criteria of patient engagement included in the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs under the HITECH Act of 2009. Providing patients with secure access to a standards-based electronic record, such as Get Real Health’s InstantPHR™ personal health record, the article explains, enables healthcare providers to meet these criteria.
People with advanced type 2 and type 1 diabetes must manage their chronic condition as a way of life. Smartphone apps, comprehensive personal health record tools that connect the patients with their providers, and personal health tools on employer portals are all examples of technology that enables patients to manage their health while contributing to the national goal of improved health outcomes.
In the article, the InstantPHR™ tool is used as an example of a web-based platform that allows diabetics to collect their blood glucose, weight and A1c and track them over time. It’s such an effective tool that both Medstar Health and the American Diabetes Association have adopted InstantPHR™ as a way of helping patients track and better manage their care.
With more than 42 percent of U.S. adults owning a smartphone, the authors conclude that recent trends indicate that usage of patient-centric tools
for tracking and decision-making will increasingly become part of patients’ personal toolkits for more effectively managing chronic disease.
Follow Get Real Health’s Cortney Nicolato on Twitter at
@CortneyNic
