Your Health Reform Ideas: Keep Them Coming!

Since returning from the World Health Care Congress, where I helped to announce the Innovation xChange, I’ve been spending some time on the ChangeNow4Health community Website. Overall, I’ve been very pleased to see that ideas are coming in at a steady pace.  I’d like to thank all those who have taken the time to submit ideas.  Rest assured, we’re reviewing them and posting them as quickly as possible. 

I’d also like to take the time to highlight an idea I found particularly interesting.  We often talk about how people can benefit from the wealth of health information on the Internet.  While online content is certainly helpful and necessary, it would be great to have access to health information at the point of care.  This is why I found Dr Aniruddha Malpani’s idea so intriguing.  He writes:

“A very cost-effective way of [empowering consumers] is to provide a patient education resource center in every facility which provides clinical care - ranging from: the doctor's clinic; pharmacies; medical laboratories; diagnostic centers; and hospitals.”

I’d like to make a few additions to Dr. Malpani’s idea.  Specifically, I think the most effective patient education resource centers would:

o    Feature educational materials based on users’ needs – i.e., conduct focus group and other forms of market research to determine common patient questions
o    Provide computer access and a human “information guide” to help consumers separate good from bad information

This center would be especially useful for individuals from poor communities. Although many are using the Internet, there are significant disparities in computer and Internet use between high and low income people. 

What are your thoughts on this idea?  Is there anything like this happening in the US?

Thanks again for doing your part to improve the US health system by participating in this online community.