The late “Doc Tom” Ferguson (1943-2006) coined the term ePatients to describe individuals who are equipped, enabled, empowered and engaged in their health and healthcare decisions. As far back as 1978, while at Yale, Doc Tom envisioned healthcare as an equal partnership between ePatients and health professionals and systems that support them.
Moving forward to 2019, leading healthcare institutions now define an ePatient as a health consumer who uses the internet to gather information about a medical condition of particular interest to them, researches physicians and specialists and checks their online scores, and uses electronic communication tools (including Web 2.0 tools) in coping with medical conditions.
If an ePatient is becoming a specialist and expert, and highly educated in his or her own medical conditions, why not consider how to best leverage information technologies (e.g., internet tools, social networks, self-tracking tools) to support your patients and how they manage their healthcare experience with your physicians and your practice?
You can learn more about these technologies that are transforming the culture of patient care in a free eGuide we published entitled 5 Ways to Create a Patient-Centric Practice.
To help support your learning of today’s ePatient, we offer a broad array of patient-centric technologies:
- Patient-managed Scheduling
- Patient Portal
- Online Intake Forms
- Text, Email & Voice Reminders
- Telemedicine
- Patient Education
- Patient Feedback Surveys
- Online Reputation Management
- Patient Kiosk (iPad app)
- Patient Statements
- Online Bill Pay
- Patient Marketing
