Patient experience should be part of meaningful-use criteria.

The proposed federal "meaningful use" criteria for electronic health records include the direct engagement of patients in their care. In this study, we sought to describe the adoption and use of online services linked to the electronic health record at Group Health Cooperative. By August 2009, six years after the introduction of these services, 30 percent of outpatient "encounters" were actually conducted through secure electronic messaging. Meanwhile, 10 percent of enrollees reviewed medical test results online, while 10 percent went online to request medication refills. These results highlight the need to measure the patient experience as part of meaningful use and to enact policies supporting online and phone communication by patients and providers.

[1]  Bret R. Shaw,et al.  Experiences of Women with Breast Cancer: Exchanging Social Support over the CHESS Computer Network , 2000, Journal of health communication.

[2]  David Young,et al.  Research Paper: Patient Experiences and Attitudes about Access to a Patient Electronic Health Care Record and Linked Web Messaging , 2004, J. Am. Medical Informatics Assoc..

[3]  Diane P. Martin,et al.  Providers’ Experience with an Organizational Redesign Initiative to Promote Patient-Centered Access: A Qualitative Study , 2008, Journal of general internal medicine.

[4]  James T Tufano,et al.  Patient-centered medical home demonstration: a prospective, quasi-experimental, before and after evaluation. , 2009, The American journal of managed care.

[5]  Kathleen Seiders,et al.  Innovations in Access to Care: A Patient-Centered Approach , 2003, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[6]  Chen-Tan Lin,et al.  Review Paper: The Effects of Promoting Patient Access to Medical Records: A Review , 2003, J. Am. Medical Informatics Assoc..

[7]  S. Zickmund,et al.  Interest in the Use of Computerized Patient Portals: Role of the Provider–Patient Relationship , 2007, Journal of General Internal Medicine.

[8]  David Carrell,et al.  Messages, Strands and Threads: Measuring Use of Electronic Patient-Provider Messaging , 2005, AMIA.

[9]  T. Bodenheimer,et al.  Patient self-management of chronic disease in primary care. , 2002, JAMA.

[10]  Jeroan J. Allison,et al.  Research Paper: Disparities in Use of a Personal Health Record in a Managed Care Organization , 2009, J. Am. Medical Informatics Assoc..

[11]  S. Kaplan,et al.  Assessing the Effects of Physician-Patient Interactions on the Outcomes of Chronic Disease , 1989, Medical care.

[12]  Debra Revere,et al.  Patients' experience with a diabetes support programme based on an interactive electronic medical record: qualitative study , 2004, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[13]  David Carrell,et al.  Research Paper: Patient Web Services Integrated with a Shared Medical Record: Patient Use and Satisfaction , 2007, J. Am. Medical Informatics Assoc..

[14]  Gregory E. Simon,et al.  Patient Use of Secure Electronic Messaging Within a Shared Medical Record: A Cross-sectional Study , 2009, Journal of General Internal Medicine.

[15]  Steven J Katz,et al.  Crossing the digital divide: evaluating online communication between patients and their providers. , 2004, The American journal of managed care.

[16]  C. Baur,et al.  Limiting Factors on the Transformative Powers of E-Mail in Patient-Physician Relationships: A Critical Analysis , 2000, Health communication.

[17]  Diane P. Martin,et al.  Group Health Cooperative’s Transformation Toward Patient-Centered Access , 2009, Medical care research and review : MCRR.

[18]  D. Ford,et al.  Experiences of patients who were early adopters of electronic communication with their physician: satisfaction, benefits, and concerns. , 2004, The American journal of managed care.

[19]  D. Ford,et al.  Doctors Who Are Using E-mail With Their Patients: a Qualitative Exploration , 2003, Journal of medical Internet research.