Geisinger using technology to increase patient engagement, CEO says

Geisinger Health System has invested in health information technology innovations to transform itself from a fragmented, hospital-centric model to one that actively courts patient involvement and access, CEO Dr. Glenn Steele, Jr. said during an industry talk Thursday.

The Danville, Pa.-based system has invested in three key areas: virtual visits; patient access to healthcare data; and personalized medicine, Steele said during the keynote speech at the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives fall meeting in San Antonio.

Geisinger is increasing patient access to healthcare data through its OpenNotes program, which it expanded in 2013 to 1,100 providers and approximately 170,000 patients.

More than 80% of patients opened the doctor's notes included in their record, Steele said, and the majority reported feeling more in control of their care, better prepared for their visits and more likely to take medications as prescribed.

The organization's patient portal now has approximately 268,000 active users, about 41% of ongoing patients.

As a result of these patients accessing care and their records online, “the amount of error correction is significant,” Steele said, and providers have been “minimally aggravated” by the changes in the system.

“The idea is if we get active engagement, we will have a much more active relationship and will have more understanding of what the men and women we're responsible for think,” Steele said. “This is starting to spread now, across the country.”

Steele has announced he will be retiring in June 2015.

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