09-14-2012
Most U.S. physicians are in the process of implementing electronic health records, motivated by the incentives provided through the HITECH Act. As physicians use EHRs more meaningfully, engaging with patients and their data is a primary goal for the investment of roughly $40 billion worth of taxpayer dollars.
But as physicians and IT workers continue to build the national health information infrastructure, will patients engage in turn? Many people in the U.S. aren't aware that their health data are indeed "theirs." Without patient engagement in their health data and knowing their numbers, people don't achieve optimal health outcomes, driving more intense health care resource utilization and costs downstream.
The Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT addressed this challenge in a video released last month. Think of this as direct-to-consumer promotion of health IT.
Why ONC Is Going DTC
In 1997, FDA relaxed rules for the direct-to-consumer promotion of pharmaceutical products. Since then, for every $1 spent on DTC ads, the industry earned $4.20 in increased sales, according to an analysis of the effect of DTC. While many downsides to DTC advertising have been argued, advocates of DTC cite that it increases consumer awareness of health conditions and treatment options, increases patient empowerment and improves physician-patient communication.
Fifteen years later, we've entered the era of DTC for health IT, with ONC promoting the benefits of health IT to patients, for patients. As a result of DTC campaigns promoting health IT, will patients clamor for data access the same way they have for prescription drugs? Read more.