Patients use of and preferences for a practice

Patients’ use of and preferences for a practice homepage – how to improve service and access? DUOWAP

Patients’ use of and preferences for a practice homepage – how to improve service and access? DUOWAP

Objectives n Quality development project concerning improvement of web-based services in general practice n Present use of the homepage and the internet? The patients needs and wishes for a practice homepage? u Identification and description of new ways to use a practice homepage. n DUOWAP

Methods n Questionnaire 300 consecutive patients n Two focus group interviews Selected patients DUOWAP

Questionnaire Patient related info n Present use of the homepage and the internet n Interest in future initiatives n DUOWAP

Patient related data n n n DUOWAP 64% women 44% on daily medication 39% with chronic disease 13% keep a health record at home ~50 % had < 5 annual contacts

Present use of the homepage and internet 66% had visited the present homepage n What had they used it for? u Email consultation 42%, u Prescription renewal 23, 5% u Appointment scheduling 31% u Seeking practice information 49, 5% u Seeking health information 16% DUOWAP n

Where do patients seek health information? n n DUOWAP > 50 % consider the internet to be an important or very important source of health information 1 Primarily used to decide whether to contact GP 1 1) Janne Rasmussen et al, 2009

Seeking health information on the Internet 14 % of all the patients in the waiting room had used the Internet searching for health information prior to consultation that day. Did they find what they were looking for? DUOWAP

Where do the patients seek health information on the Internet DUOWAP

Interest in future initiatives: Forms? n 88 % were interested in filling in forms via the homepage as a part of preparation for a consultation u Certificate for drivers license u Pregnancy check-up u Record of symptoms (e. g. head-ache, urination, pain, anxiety) DUOWAP

Interest in future initaitives: A Personal Health Record? n 87% were interested in the possibility of a safe ”archive” for personal health information via the homepage accessible only for patient and doctor: u A Personal Health Record DUOWAP

Interests in future initaitives: Discussion group? n 38 % were interested in the possibility to share thoughts and experiences with others from the local area via the homepage (chat room, forum) DUOWAP

Background knowledge n Increasing use of a Personal Health Record u Barriers? t Disabilities, computer literacy or anxiety 1 u Providers? n High satisfaction with web-based u Medical refills, messaging, test results 2 1: Lober et al, 2: Ralston et al, 2007

Focus group interviews n Qualitative investigation of the questionnaire results Selected patients from the practice by direct doctor – patient contact n Divided into a spontaneus patient driven part and a guided part n DUOWAP

Wishes for a practice homepage: n A personal page – a personal health record u Access for both patient and doctor u Patient generated data and automatically generated data from the record u Diary/calendar for symptom or data recording u Access to record and test results DUOWAP

Wishes for a practice homepage: n n Flexible and flawless basic functions: u Email, prescription request, scheduling Quality links Possibility for signing up for newsmails divided into topics. Contact with other patients via the homepage. u Prior face-to-face contact in e. g. a motivation group or educational utility DUOWAP

Wishes for a practice homepage: Profiled and personal homepage u Who is ”my doctor”? t Presentation, subspecialized? n Comments on topic in the media n Knowledge sharing (e. g. clinical guidelines for chronic diseases) n Information about collaborators n DUOWAP

Conclusion The accessible basic functions are important n A wish and potential for a homepage that is: u Personal u Flexible u Interactive n DUOWAP

Interpretation of results User driven innovation n Recognition of potential for the homepage among the patients n Commited and involved patients wanting knowledge sharing n

Potentials and advantages by the possible initiatives Improved knowledge sharing n Well-prepared patient and doctor n Time saving n Open communication n Improved self-care? n Empowerment n DUOWAP

Questions? ? ? ? DUOWAP ? ?