By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA

As a registered nurse, here are three of my top health tips for taking charge of your health. These aren’t the typical how-to-tips; rather, they help empower you by getting you involved in a hi-tech and social world.

1. Get involved. You are the most important member of your health care team. You are the biggest stakeholder in your health care, and you have the choice to live a healthier life. Become a proactive and empowered health care consumer, and become engaged in your health care. Partner with your health care providers and be part of the decision-making process. Remember to speak up and ask questions.

2. Get tech savvy. Technology can help move your health forward for a healthier you. Health apps continue to soar and mobile technology, “or mHealth” is transforming health care around the globe. Imagine having a conversation with your doctor or other health care provider that goes beyond what medications to take. Instead it involves communication about technology.  Imagine having access to your electronic medical records (EMRs) and/or electronic health records (EHRs) via your mobile phone. Picture your health information captured in electronic health records that could be available to all your doctors and health care providers no matter where you are.

Or what if your clinician suggested health apps that are right for you?  In fact, Happytique, Inc. is doing just that. According to a press release,

“Mobile app prescribing will add an entirely new dimension to my ability to care for patients,” said Steven Magid, M.D. of New York-based Hospital for Special Surgery. “In this increasingly connected and mobile world, the use of Happtique’s mRx™ will improve doctor-patient communication, patient engagement, compliance, and ultimately patients’ health.”  “App prescribing will enhance the provider/patient connection and facilitate healthy behavior changes, potentially reducing costs for providers, payers, and patients,” said Happtique CEO Ben Chodor. “mRx™ is the next evolutionary step in the field, and we are confident the provider community will agree and embrace app prescribing as a way to better engage patients in their own health and improve clinical outcomes.”

Now picture you and your doctor or other health care provider communicating via text, email or video.

Text Messaging
Wouldn’t it be fantastic to get text messages with reminders or motivational messages? Research conducted at the Center for Connected Health, showed that “sending people a text message each AM with the weather report and a reminder to put on their sunscreen increased sunscreen use dramatically,” said Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Founder and Director at the Center for Connected Health.

If you are pregnant or a new mom Text4baby messages (founding sponsor Johnson & Johnson) are free text messages for pregnant women and new moms even if the individuals don’t have a text message plan and if they have a limited texting plan, these text4forbaby messages don’t take away from that limit.

Telemedicine|Telehealth
Imagine patients being able to communicate with their physicians and other health care providers easily and effectively.  For instance, patients can input their health and biometric data from consumer monitoring devices that measure blood sugar, weight, and blood pressure (to name a few) into Smartphones or PCs; which then, safely integrates into the electronic health record (EHR, PHR, EMR) for instant communication and feedback from physicians and other health care providers.

Or, imagine late at night, a patient interacting from a cell phone or a computer with a physician or other health care provider that could help save a trip to an emergency room.  Envision patients monitoring their chronic diseases independently while living at home.

American Well is a technology company that brings health care into homes and into the workplace.   While this software telehealth company’s site is for professionals, take a look and find out what key features are possible.  Begin the conversation with your health care providers.

Gaming
Gaming is huge and it can help you achieve your health and wellness goals. What if your health care provider suggested you played Kinect or offered other suggestions for gaming for better health?

3. Get social. Sure, hanging out with your friends face-to-face is always a great way to interact, but I’m talking about getting social in the social networking space with health experts who can inspire you, lead you to action and offer trustworthy health information.

Tap into health experts

By engaging in social networking , you can tap into health experts that you trust.  Here is a short list of the many wondering health educators.

There are many health experts engaging in social media networking to help provide you with valuable information. I’ve been involved in a few Sharecare’s awesome Twitter chats—powerful real-time question-and-answer sessions—and I must say that two hours tweeting health information, engaging and interacting with the twitter audience on topics like sleep, heart health and genetics was very cool.

Twitter is one powerful platform that offers the opportunity for nurses, doctors, and other health care providers to help educate consumers. We are privileged to listen to the community, engage with consumers, collaborate and hopefully inspire people to live a healthier life.

Engage in online health communities

Communities are a great way to find emotional support and reassurance from other people going through the same experience. You can collaborate and share information.  Inspire is one example of an engaging community.

Patients can help transform health care and may help drive innovation and behavior change by engaging in the power of mobile devices and social media networking.

The conversation between you and your doctor or other health care provider needs to change. Technology needs to be part of the conversation. You can play a huge role in the adoption and deployment of health technology.  Help drive innovation.

The technology is here, now it needs to get in the hands of patients and consumers.

Your turn

We would love you to share your insights in the comment section below.  Are you an engaged and empowered consumer? What are your thoughts on health care technology? Are you for or against it? How do you feel about social media networking? Do you engage with health care professionals?

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Additional Posts

• Can Mobile Devices Help Connect the Dots for Better Health Care?
• Grand Rounds on Healthin30 Features Health IT – Mobile Technology, Telemedicine
• Gaming for Better Health
• How is Gaming Changing the Landscape in Health Care? Part 4
• Telehealth, Remote Monitoring and Mobile Health
• Telehealth the Nucleus of Patient Care
• Telehealth Tapping into Social Influence
• HIMSS Article on  Telehealth by Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA
• Patient-Centric Care at the Hub of Telehealth
• Health 2.0/Health IT
• Patient Engagement
• Chronic Disease Management Through Mobile Health-Guest Post on KevinMD
• Patient-Centric Care Delivered with Patient-Friendly Apps
• 5 Buckets to Patient Engagement and the Role of HIT
• Patient Engagement and Health IT – Social Media Voices

Upcoming speaking events for Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA

Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio
Patient Experience: Empathy and Innovation Summit
May 19-22, 2012
Title: Social Media in Health Care
Speakers
Agenda

Arkansas HIMSS
Little Rock, Arkansas
H.I.T. it to the Green with Leadership
June, 1, 2012
Title: Using IT to Engage the Patient
Speakers
Agenda

Guest speakers Cleveland Clinic

Rob Bazemore, Jr.
President
Janssen Biotech

Patricia Benner, RN, PhD, FAAN
Professor Emerita
University of California San Francisco

Abdullah Bin Zarah, MPH, CBBSS
Executive Director, Clinical Affairs; Director, Business Strategy
Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City

Zsolt Bognár
Pianist

Brodie Boland
PhD Candidate in Organizational Behavior
CASE Western Reserve University

Sheila Cahnman, AIA, ACHA
Group Vice President
HOK

Robin Fray Carey
Founder
Social Media Today LLCK

J.T. (Ted) Childs
Global Strategic Diversity Advisor
Ted Childs, LLC

Calvin Chou, MD, PhD
Professor of Clinical
University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine

Nananda Col, MD
Shared Decision Making Resources
Read Bio

Alan Dubovsky
Assistant Director Business Service
The Emory Clinic

Ioan Duca, BSA, MSA
Service Excellence Officer
University of Toledo Medical Center

Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA
President
Barbara Ficarra Productions, LLC

Joyce Fitzpatrick, PhD, MBA, FAAN
Elizabeth Brooks Ford Professor of Nursing
CASE Western Reserve University

Clare Fletcher, MS
Director Service Excellence
Forbes Regional Hospital

Larry Freed
President and Chief Executive Officer
Foresee

Stewart Gandolf, MBA
Founding Partner

Emilio Garcia-Ruiz
Editor for Strategic Projects
Washington Post

Devin Gross
Chief Executive Officer
Emmi Solutions

Ron Gutman
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
HealthTap

Catherine Meredith Lambert
Rehearsal Director
The Dancing Wheels Company & School

Brent Larkin
Columnist
The Plain Dealer

Jenn Lim
Chief Executive Officer and
Chief Happiness Officer
Delivering Happiness

Doug Lyons
Patient

Sanjay Malaviya
Chief Executive Officer
RL Solutions

Cynthia Floyd Manley
Integrated Messaging and Content Strategist
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Harley Manning
Vice President, Research Director
Forrester Research

Nancy McDonnell
Patient and Judge
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court

Mickie McGraw, MA, BFA, ATR-BC
Art Therapy Consultant, Educator,
Clinician and Patient

Julie Muraco
Managing Partner
Praeditis Goup, LLC

Deirdre Mylod, PhD
Vice President of Hospital Services
Press Ganey Associates

Kurt Newman, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Children’s National Medical Center

Michael O’Neil, Jr.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
GetWellNetwork

Tony Padilla
Director, Patient Affairs and Volunteer Services
University of California Los Angeles

William Rawn, FAIA
Leed AP, Founding Principal
William Rawn Associates

Monica Reed, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Florida Hospital Celebration Health

Tammy Richards
Corporate Director of Clinical Engagement
Intermountain Healthcare

Carol Santalucia, MBA
President
Santalucia Group

Nina Setia
Chief Patient Experience Officer
NYU Langone Medical Center

Scott Simon
Correspondent and host of Weekend Edition
NPR

Diane Stover-Hopkins
Chief Experience and Marketing Officer
Memorial Health System

More Cleveland Clinic Speakers Here

Guest speakers HIMSS Arkansas

Dave Hartman, President, Hartman Executive Advisors
Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA, Founder Healthin30.com
Linda Tyler, Arkansas State Representative Chairperson State Public Health Policy Task Force
Dr. Lee Scher, CEO, DLS Consulting -  Keynote Speaker

HIMSS Arkansas 2012

This is a guest post by patient caregiver, Rob Harris, founder of Robcares.   He writes about how searching the Internet led to patient engagement and how it fostered a cohesive decision making process between health care providers, patient and caregiver.  Rob is a caregiver to his wife, Cindy, who is a two-time cancer survivor.

Rob Harris

“Patient engagement is more than patient satisfaction. It is patient involvement in every aspect…The patient engagement process consisted of my wife (the patient), myself (the caregiver) and our medical team. All worked hand-in-hand throughout. Rather than telling us what we would have to do, they explained our options.” -Rob Harris

So much has changed since 1990 when I first enlisted to be the primary caregiver to my wife.

I can personally attest that a different mindset has engulfed the medical universe.

As a “baby-boomer”, my parents raised me well. I learned to respect authority and my elders. I did not question those in charge. My parents, considered to be members of the “traditionalist” age group, grew up during the World War II era, when the military was not quite worshiped, but certainly revered. Amongst their populations, authority was never to be questioned.  Doing so would label the one doing so as a malcontent.

As a caregiver and a person in 1990, I believed in treating everyone with respect, which I still adhere to today. In 1990, I rarely, if ever questioned someone in authority. To me, those in the medical community stood side-by-side with our country’s political and spiritual leaders, military officers, and corporate executives.

The result? I did what I was told and did not question decisions made by those in charge. In other words, if I didn’t like what I was told, I learned to live with it.

Today, the Generation X and to a lesser extent, the Generation Y populations of younger leaders are influencing and reshaping society in significant ways.

Today’s generations grew up with computers, where vast amounts of knowledge are but a keystroke or two away. Hence, if they did not believe what they were told, they could go online and conduct research to determine the validity or legitimacy of the issue at hand. This next wave of professionals, we find, adheres to the philosophy, “Your title doesn’t impress me. Your knowledge and abilities are what will convince me to believe and follow you. If I don’t like what you have to say, I’m going to contradict you or, I’m going to check out and go elsewhere.”

Are they being disrespectful?

Not as far as I’m concerned. What they are being is “confident” and “independent thinkers.”

I admire them for this. In fact, society in general has been trending in this direction for quite some time.

And thus, in 2006, when my wife discovered she was about to battle a much deadlier form of cancer, and my role as a caregiver would be dramatically more involved than my initial experience, I immediately anointed myself an “honorary Gen X’er.” My acceptance of a medical dictatorship was gone. A very different culture exists, and I was ready to be a part of it….well, an older and wiser part, anyway.

In 2006, my wife was told she had a very rare and deadly form of cancer, one with a cure rate of less than 30 percent. Additionally, in order to survive over the upcoming few months she had left to live, she would need to have her leg amputated as soon as possible. In 1990, we would have listened and not questioned the orthopedic oncologist who spoke those words to us. However, in 2006, with computers and the Internet readily available, we became healthcare consumers. We decided to shop around for a better deal, a better prognosis and hopefully, a much better outcome.

After traveling across country to interview oncologists and orthopedic oncologists/surgeons, we selected the third set of doctors that met with us. We discovered them on the Internet, where we learned they specialized in my wife’s form of cancer.

Once treatment began, we continued to research and learn all we could about her illness and treatment options. We also wanted to make sure we were being treated properly. Once we grasped what that entailed, we insisted upon it from that moment on.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to do so very often. The doctors, nurses and other medical providers at our hospital of choice, the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, were fully engaged in that philosophy…well, for the most part, anyway. In 2006, family caregivers were still lacking the respect and recognition they deserved, not unlike what may be the case within many health care establishments today. Fortunately, we were able to overcome that hurdle after several strategic and calculated moves on our part and some open-mindedness on theirs.

What we evolved into was a “triad.” The patient engagement process consisted of my wife (the patient), myself (the caregiver) and our medical team. All worked hand-in-hand throughout. Rather than telling us what we would have to do, they explained our options. It was as cohesive a decision making process as it could possibly be. We actually felt they treated us with the same care and attention they would have shown to their own family members.

Was this a legitimate emotional attachment?

It is the real deal!

Today, six years later, we are still friends with many of the doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others that we interacted with at Moffitt.

Patient engagement is more than patient satisfaction. It is patient involvement in every aspect of their care, including the research conducted to determine the proper course of action to be taken, to the meals their served, and even the gowns they are “made to wear.” As a case in point: my wife refused to wear those hideous green gowns with the air vents in the back. She always brought and was never denied the opportunity to wear pajamas.

Rather than feeling as if we were not important and a non-factor in the decision-making process, we felt completely engaged throughout And that, we believe, contributed to my wife being cured of cancer.

About Rob Harris

My name is Rob Harris. I am a caregiver to my wife, Cindy, who is a two-time cancer survivor. Presently, she continues to experience challenges with a leg amputation that has forced her to remain wheelchair-enabled. I am an author of two books, the first to be released this summer, 2012, called We’re In This Together, A Caregiver’s Story. The second is in production. My passion is to help fellow caregivers, patients and members of the medical community bond as a team. I also blog, speak to groups and coach individual caregivers via my website, Robcares.

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Your turn

Are you a caregiver?  What tips do you have as a caregiver?  How important is patient engagement? Share your story with us in the comment section below.

As always, thank you for your valuable time.

Connect with me | Stay in touch

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Connect with Barbara on Linkedin

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Follow Rob on Twitter

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA

[This is a follow-up post to Social Media:  3 Notable Quotes in the Social Health Space.]

Health care happens before you visit with your doctor, nurse practitioner or other health care provider. Health care is about you. You have the choice to be an empowered, engaged and proactive consumer, and you have the choice to take action to live a healthier life.  It’s important to partner with your doctor and other health care providers to meet your health goals.

A recent post included a proactive quote by Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, and author of “How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick In America,” from an interview by The New York Times Well blogger and author, Tara Parker-Pope.

“…I blame patients, I blame doctors, I blame hospitals, I blame drug companies, I blame insurance companies. Our health care system is messed up because the system is designed to fail, and everybody is responsible for health care failing as it is now.” – Dr. Otis Brawley

Blaming isn’t the answer

Health care is fragmented, but placing blame isn’t the answer.  I believe a contributing factor is the separation of health care silos. It’s easy to place blame, but that’s not going to help foster collaboration, and a collaborative culture is what is needed.

Deanna Attai, MD, breast surgeon, shares her thoughts regarding Dr. Brawley’s remarks:

“There is no question that we have problems with our healthcare system, from all sides. However instead of blaming and pointing fingers, to me this reinforces the need for all to be at the table and talk to each other. This applies in the care of the individual patient as well as on a larger scale in terms of setting policies. It is only with open dialogue and dismantling of the silos that we can expect to have true partnerships with one common goal – effective disease prevention and treatment.”

However, John La Puma, MD, ChefMD, disagrees.  Sharing his thoughts in an email to me, and with his permission to publish, he writes:

“Health care silos are silos for a reason: they don’t recognize common interests, and tend to take positions which advance the causes of shareholders and stakeholders.  I think it’s particularly difficult to blame patients for wanting more care:  America, in the 20th century latter half has been about bigger, better, more.  One solution is the community-based education one, the DIY one which includes Doing It Together as well. Young people already get this. They are already understanding more about interconnection, ecology, food source and water source, and the interrelationship between food, water, body, mind and spirit than I did when I was in college and medical school. I think that, along with technology advances will help to provide a system that is less based on blame and more on interconnection.”

Dr. La Puma’s points are well taken and I agree with him that technology will promote interconnection.  We need to engage with patients and consumers and technology needs to be part of the conversation in and out of the doctor’s office.  From telemedicine to health apps, to gaming and texting; all for a healthier life.

Your turn

What steps are needed to help fix health care?  Please share your insightful thoughts in the comment section below.

As always thank you for your valuable time.

Patient Engagement

5 Buckets to Patient Engagement and the Role of HIT

Patient Engagement and Health IT – Social Media Voices

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA

J&J Unit Closes Facebook Page Due To Comments by Ed Silverman

“This page was created – in a spirit of innovation – as a space for people affected by psoriasis to share experiences and information, and to discuss psoriasis and related topics. Janssen is proud to have provided this forum at a time when they weren’t as widespread as they are today. But instead of our original intention of facilitating meaningful conversations, our experience shows we are actually hampering conversations that could take place freely on a page run by a patient organization.” – Janssen Spokesman from Janssen UK unit of Johnson & Johnson commented on the shutting down of Psoriasis 360 Facebook page.  [Source:  Pharmalot]

How Doctors and Patients Do Harm by Tara Parker-Pope

New York Times Well blogger and author, Tara Parker-Pope interviewed Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, and author of “How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick In America’’ (St. Martin’s Press).

“…I’ve seen that so many times, where doctors really have failed to evolve and failed to learn as the profession and the scientific evidence have changed over time…I blame patients, I blame doctors, I blame hospitals, I blame drug companies, I blame insurance companies. Our health care system is messed up because the system is designed to fail, and everybody is responsible for health care failing as it is now.” – Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer for the American Cancer Society, partial response when asked by Parker-Pope to explain how he  just doesn’t blame doctors for being greedy, but he blames patients for being gluttonous.” [Source:  The New York Times]

Full interview here>

The Top 5 Devious Lies You Hear About Social Media by Justin Brackett

“By now everyone and their dog knows I love social media. I gave up my full time job at a national law firm to pursue my passion and it’s pretty incredible to do what you love (and get paid). But, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns as some portray.  Like any other job, it takes a lot of hard work, dedication and consistent engagement.  Social media marketers come a dime a billion these days and you must differentiate yourself. Or die trying!”  – Justin Brackett, VP of Shift Digital, shares insights about social media on SocialMediaToday. [Source:  SocialMediaToday]

Your turn

How do you feel about the responses above?   Are you surprised that Janssen UK unit of Johnson & Johnson closed down its Psoriasis 360 Facebook page?  What are your thoughts regarding Dr. Otis Brawley’s comments?  How would you respond to Justin’s comments regarding social media?

Please share your insightful thoughts in the comment section below.

As always, thank you for your valuable time.

Connect with me | Stay in touch

Follow Barbara on Twitter
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Like Healthin30
Connect with Barbara on Linkedin

Become a fan on Huffingtonpost