The past decade has been transformed by new technologies that allow consumers to actively engage and interact in new and meaningful ways, including managing their finances, arranging travel, even communicating with friends and family using social networking! Yet, the same transformation towards actively engaging consumers in health care has not happened. While Canada’s health care system faces increasing demands from an aging population with growing rates of chronic illness, there have been few examples of engaging consumers actively in health care services like so many other sectors have achieved. Innovative strategies that transform health services to meet consumer needs, improve the quality of patient care and achieve sustainability are long overdue.

Canadians are living longer, rates of chronic illness are increasing, and as Baby Boomers reach their golden years, wellness and independence are priorities for this very unique consumer group. Baby Boomer behaviours and attitudes towards technology and health information suggest a growing desire for health care services and resources that promote self and personalized approaches to care, allow for control of personal health information, and provide convenience all with the goal of maintaining independence and quality of life in their community.

Consumer engagement presents an opportunity for health systems to develop new solutions that engage and leverage consumers to improve accessibility, efficiency, and quality of health services while reducing costs. This essay shares highlights from the paper “Transforming Health Care through Consumer Engagement: The Key to Quality and System Innovation” on how consumer engagement and innovation adoption can help achieve health quality and system sustainability goals.

The first step towards engaging Canadians more actively in managing their own health is the implementation of consumer driven, personal health records (PHR). Research suggests that 61 per cent of consumers want their physicians, hospitals and/or the government to provide them with a PHR or online medical record. Giving patients access to their health information creates empowered and informed consumers who can much more actively engage in health care systems. Informed consumers with their own PHR can make better decisions about their own health care needs and goals, and can effectively monitor and safely manage their chronic conditions including medications and treatments. A more engaged and informed consumer of health services can also serve the needs of health professionals by providing more accurate information about their health, their health history, the medications they are taking and diagnostic tests they have undergone. Physicians and nurses rely on accurate patient information for achieving quality patient care outcomes, and consumers who are well informed are more likely to achieve quality health outcomes. Furthermore, integrating PHRs within health information systems can create a streamlined flow of information and communication between consumers and professionals. Not only are PHRs an important opportunity for consumer engagement, but they also offer potential cost savings in the health care system. PHRs enable the development of online personal health information systems and appointment and referral management systems that can potentially reduce administrative costs and may reduce demands on the health system and ultimately improve wait times.

The second opportunity for enhancing consumer engagement is about managing health
information. Patients are increasingly turning to the Internet for health information regarding personal or family illnesses and treatments. Canadian health systems need to improve their presence online to ensure that patients know where to turn for reliable sources for information.

Online personal decision support tools and applications can help consumers more effectively manage their own health and wellness, navigate the health care system and make more effective, informed health decisions. Opportunities exist to utilize social networking to engage consumers more actively in their health care by leveraging their desire for social connectivity.

For example, social networking capabilities that interface with PHRs and information systems could result in easy and valuable communication between consumers and health care teams.

Online patient support sites, such as Patients-Like-Me, have provided successful models of how health-focused online sharing of experiences and information can support, inform, and improve consumer awareness of personal health care challenges and best practice options for care.

Finally, it is also time to rethink health care service design with the changing needs of
consumers in mind. Canada’s major challenge in home care provision is the management
of aging citizens with multiple chronic or complex illnesses. We need to redesign health
care services and deliver care to consumers in their own communities and homes, in a way
that helps consumers remain informed and connected while at the same time supporting
independence and quality of life, particularly for seniors. Health sector leaders need to redesign services using innovative technologies that engage patients in managing their health needs in the comfort of their own homes. Technologies that support home monitoring and surveillance technologies to connect patients to health service providers when needed, and that build supportive networks in our communities, will enable seniors to remain at home with greater quality of life with their families. There is considerable value in remote home and health monitoring and surveillance for family and friends who are very willing to provide support and care for their ill loved ones, from afar or near, but who desire options to more easily stay connected to them to make those interactions more manageable and meaningful within their busy lives. Thus, there is clear demand for designing and implementing creative ways to actively engage consumers by promoting interconnectivity between patients in their own homes, their families, nearby clinics, and even community health teams to manage transitions in care and offer consumers personalized services which maximize independence, improve patient and family quality of life, and reduce reliance on acute care services while containing health system costs.

Canadian health systems need to learn to support patients and commit to meaningful consumer engagement in order to achieve health system transformation. The adoption of innovative information and communication solutions that actively drive consumer engagement in health care will make a significant impact on system-wide improvements related to accessibility, efficiency, and quality while reducing costs.