Geisinger execs to discuss use of IT in engaging patients

OpenNotes, CRM initiatives help organization tailor care, says Jonathan Slotkin.


Geisinger Health System, one of the nation’s leaders in the use of information technology to improve care to patients, will share some of its approaches for using technology in advancing population health initiatives.

Geisinger in Pennsylvania has been engaged in population health management data analytics for some time, using clinical data from its core Epic electronic health records system and claims data from its health plan. Use of the data is enabling it to manage care utilization while providing cost-effective care to those in its service area.



Geisinger health IT executives plan to participate in sessions during HIMSS17, sharing some of the lessons the organization has learned in further utilizing IT improve care delivery.

On Sunday, February 19, two of its executives will present at the Digital and Personal Connected Health Conference at a session entitled, “Geisinger’s Journey to Personalized Care Using CRM.” The session details the organization’s efforts to deliver personalized experiences in all its patient interactions, and toward that end, it’s tailoring interactions based on patients’ communication preferences, behaviors and motivations, says Jonathan Slotkin, medical director of Geisinger in Motion in the organization’s division of applied research and clinical informatics.

For example, diabetics are not homogenous; they have different lifestyles and what motivates them to change also vary. “Some patients will be self-motivated; for some, a life event, such as a grandkid’s graduation, will be more effective,” he says. “Incorporating all of these into healthcare interactions will improve the experience and the likelihood of adherence to tailored care plans.”

To personalize patients’ experience, Geisinger has developed a system-wide plan to implement customer relationship management, and it’s testing the concept in two pilots—one for breast cancer, and one for diabetes and obesity for food-insecure patients.

In addition to Slotkin, the session will be led by Chanin Wendling, associate vice president for informatics for Geisinger. The session is at 2:50 p.m. in the Plaza International G-H Ballroom.

In addition, Geisinger also will share its early experience with Open Notes in a session entitled “OpenNotes—Overall Status, Approaches and Experience: One Year Later.”

John Kravitz, senior vice president and CIO for the organization, will participate on a panel discussing the topic.

OpenNotes is a national movement that encourages organizations to give patients access to their EHR notes as a standard of care. OpenNotes, a national movement that seeks to enhance communication through shared clinicians’ notes and fully transparent medical records, began in 2010 with an initial study that included more than 100 primary care doctors at three hospitals—Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Geisinger Health System, and Harborview Medical Center—in which 20,000 patients were invited to read their visit notes through a secure website.

This session will discuss the benefits and risks of providing patients' easy and secure access to their EHR information. Presenters will offer an update on the overall status of OpenNotes adoption in the United States and highlight some of the experiences and approaches that organizations have taken in opening their EHRs to direct patient access. The work of the NW OpenNotes Consortium and Geisinger Health Systems will be highlighted.

The session will be at 8:30 a.m. February 22 in the Tangerine ballroom, F3, in the Orange County Convention Center.

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