Panel - An ePrescription for Improved Trust, Relationships, Information & Communication
Patients and family caregivers often search online to meet their health information needs. Most people have large gaps in their understanding of health, conditions, procedures, and treatments. They often lack the information to ask good questions when they meet with clinicians, are intimidated to engage in a conversation with medical professionals, or are embarrassed to ask questions about topics like sex and bowel movements. We can proactively meet people's informational needs and concerns, so they’re less likely to go online and find information that may be outdated, inappropriate, or may be misinformation. Patient education platforms make it easy to find, create, and e-prescribe videos, animations, interactive decision aids, infographics, and documents that are easy to understand and act on. People can view them at home when there's not time pressure, or the social dynamics of a clinician interaction, and their families and care partners can get the same information. When these resources are co-designed and tested with patients they help patients understand and retain information, follow instructions, and normalize question asking. In fact, this type of eLearning platform can also make it easy for people to ask questions asynchronously. To combat misinformation, we need to proactively meet people's informational needs and address their concerns, worries, and questions so they don't turn to other sources.