Page 23 - Health Literacy, eHealth, and Communication: Putting the Consumer First: Workshop Summary

Health Literacy, eHealth, and Communication: Putting the Consumer First: Workshop Summary

HeALtH LiteRACY, eHeALtH, AnD CoMMUniCAtion

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in consumer-
facing applications, with very large corporations such as Microsoft and
Google developing a number of applications in this area. Most efforts
are, however, provider-centric initiatives, increasingly led by hospitals
and are designed to exchange data across organizations. There is also
some activity with health plans. Of particular value in what is occurring
across the field of health information technology is connecting consumer
applications with those that exchange clinical data.
The eHealth Initiative Foundation conducts an annual survey of
Information Exchange Initiatives. The fourth annual survey of health
information exchange at the state, regional, and community levels, con-
ducted in 2007, found that of the 130 initiatives responding to the survey,
20 were at the beginning stages of effort (stage 1 or 2—see Table 2-1 for

TAbLE 2-1 Seven-Stage Framework for Assessing and Tracking the
Development of Health Information Exchange Initiatives at the State
and Local Levels
Stage 1 Recognition of the need for health information exchange among
multiple stakeholders in your state, region or community. (Public
declaration by a coalition or political leader)
Stage 2 Getting organized; defining shared vision, goals, and objectives;
identifying funding sources, setting up legal and governance
structures. (Multiple, inclusive meetings to address needs and
frameworks)
Stage 3 Transferring vision, goals and objectives to tactics and business
plan; defining your needs and requirements; securing funding.
(Funded organizational efforts under sponsorship)
Stage 4 Well under way with implementation—technical, financial, and
legal. (Pilot project or implementation with multiyear budget
identified and tagged for a specific need)
Stage 5 Fully operational health information organization; transmitting
data that is being used by health care stakeholders.
Stage 6 Fully operational health information organization; transmitting
data that is being used by health care stakeholders and have a
sustainable business model.
Stage 7 Demonstration of expansion of organization to encompass a
broader coalition of stakeholders than present in the initial
operational model.
Reprinted with permission from the eHealth Initiative and Foundation for eHealth Initiative,
2008c. Results of 00 Surey on Health information exchange: State of the Field. http://www.
ehealthinitiative.org/HIESurvey/2008StateOfTheField.mspx.

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