Like the rest of the economy, the medical industry is experiencing a shift from paper-based offline content to organized, digital content where large amounts of information are available at one's fingertips. Recent articles in the media further examine this trend.
April 19, 2006 by Laura Landro
The dysfunctional doctor's office is getting a makeover.
A growing number of programs around the country are helping doctors redesign their offices to wring more profit out of their practices and fix problems that have long frustrated patients: weeks-long delays to get appointments, hours in the waiting room, too-brief visits with the doctor, and the near impossibility of getting the physician on the phone. While the goal is to improve care, the programs also aim to avert a looming shortage of primary-care doctors who are frustrated with low pay, long hours and rising overhead costs.
The new programs borrow lessons from other industries to help doctors work more efficiently, especially those in solo and small group practices who account for the majority of outpatient office visits. One approach employs calculations used by airlines, hotels and restaurants to predict demand: The idea is that doctors can cut patient waits much the way restaurant chains seat diners and turn over tables efficiently. Others involve relatively simple changes, such as leaving afternoon appointments open for urgent visits, or having patients fill out paperwork ahead of time online.
Article continued at wsj.com
December 31, 2004 by Tracy Kershaw-Staley
Grace Curtis was surprised when patients recently began filling out online registration forms before the service was officially launched.
But some Web-savvy patients had searched out the test form on Kettering Medical Center Network's Web site and started using it, said Curtis, director for patient registration and central scheduling.
"We were just astounded. We hadn't told anybody about this," she said. "There's an expectation that you do business electronically."
The patient forms now are online and prominently displayed on the Web site, and Curtis and other hospital leaders hope the new system will be a more efficient registration process for people who come to the hospitals for scheduled procedures.
The KMCN hospitals are the first in the Dayton area to provide the service, said network spokesman Kevin Lavoie. And the hospital network also may be on the cutting edge for hospitals statewide ... "Hospitals are always looking to make advances in technology that will ease the patient experience at the hospital. If hospitals don't have to deal with administrative matters as much, they can focus on patient care."
Nancy Thickel, spokeswoman for Premier Health Partners, said Premier does not offer online patient registration but plans to in the future. Premier operates Miami Valley, Good Samaritan and Middletown Regional hospitals. ...patients are more likely to provide complete and accurate information from home rather than at the hospital, she said. The hospital previously has mailed registration information to surgery patients and found patients were more likely to complete all the questions than when they were at the hospital, she said.
"We found that the information we get back from people is very accurate," she said. "They are sitting at home, looking things up, and they don't have the anxiety of the test they are going to have or the anxiety of having someone asking them the questions over the phone."
“patients are more likely to provide complete and accurate information from home rather than at the hospital”