Patient-Centered Computing and eHealth: Transforming Healthcare Quality

Please join us April 30 – May 2, 2012 in Waltham, MA and gain new perspectives and increase your understanding of the theoretical and practical opportunities, and challenges, in implementing and effectively using patient-centered eHealth applications.

This course presents best practices in patient-centered computing and eHealth using a format that will enable acquisition of new knowledge and allow students to take away skills for immediate application. Through plenary presentations, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, participants will have an opportunity to see the "big picture," understand current best practices, and take away practical lessons learned and insights about how to effectively use health IT. Students will interact with experts about current issues, including:

• The role of eHealth in enhancing patient safety and reducing medical errors
• Best practices and guidelines for the use of eHealth applications (e.g., Electronic Health Records [EHRs], Personal Health Records [PHRs], secure messaging, Web visits)
• The impact of current health policy and efforts toward health reform, and "Meaningful Use" of Health IT
• The evidence base regarding health IT''s role in behavior change and chronic disease self-management (e.g., diabetes, heart failure, depression)
• The value proposition for physicians and other stakeholders of using eHealth strategies
• Patients' perspectives on eHealth applications and technologies, and their viewpoint about the impact on healthcare costs, quality, and satisfaction
• Information about working collaboratively and communicating effectively with patients to assess and differentiate the quality of healthcare information on the Internet and publicly reported quality measures
• Opportunities and risks in clinical data sharing
• The potential for provider and patient technologies to support improved public health reporting and community wellness, future research, and development in patient-centered computing and eHealth