RRP 09-225
My HealtheVet Cross-Cutting Quality Enhancement Research Initiative Workgroup
Frances M. Weaver, PhD MA BA Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL Hines, IL Funding Period: October 2009 - September 2010 Portfolio Assignment: QUERI |
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Launched in 2003, My HealtheVet (MHV) is an integrated web-portal and personal health record (PHR) system that aims to empower Veterans to participate more fully in their health care. There is tremendous interest across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to maximize use of MHV, capitalize on its potential to facilitate healthcare delivery, and promote superior health outcomes in the Veteran population, but the evidence base necessary to support such initiatives is limited. To address these issues, we formed a collaborative and sustainable MHV cross-cutting QUERI workgroup, the purpose of which is to understand, promote, and support the pursuit of PHR research, particularly as it relates to implementation research efforts OBJECTIVE(S): The overarching goal of the proposed MHV workgroup was to explore the relationships between implementation science and PHR-related research, by identifying areas of interest, MHV features that could support research, and methods to disseminate research projects and findings. METHODS: The workgroup members participated in bimonthly conference calls to discuss important issues, and disseminated meeting notes via a Share Point site. Members of the committee presented their research related to using MHV during these calls. The workgroup also developed and fielded an IRB-exempted online survey, as part of a Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) Cyber Seminar. E-mail messages with a survey hyperlink were sent to 465 seminar registrants. Questions focused on MHV perceptions and awareness, current research activities, use of particular MHV features and functionalities, experience and interest in ehealth technologies, and demographics. Data analyses were descriptive. FINDINGS/RESULTS: 191 individuals (41% response rate) completed the survey; 81.6% were based at a VA facility, 50.8% were engaged in research and 24.6% were affiliated with a QUERI or HSRD resource center. Before the cyberseminar, 43.5% were moderately/very familiar with MHV, 84.8% had visited MHV, and 71.7% had discussed MHV with colleagues. Participants were interested in using the following MHV-related data: patient self-entered information (62.9%), electronic medical record (EMR) extracts (57.7%), web-trend reports (53.6%), administrative data (47.4%), and the American Customer Satisfaction Survey (37.1%). Respondents agreed/strongly agreed that MHV can be used to deliver healthcare interventions (61.2%), promote healthy behavior (60.7%), and understand patient self-management (63.7%). In sum, a select group of VA researchers, clinical and operations staff are interested in using MHV and other patient-facing technologies to study, intervene, and measure patient outcomes. IMPACT: As part of VA's ongoing transformation initiatives, eHealth strategies will play an important role in reshaping existing disease management and care delivery models for Veterans. These results suggest that VA's research community should be engaged as a resource to understand how and why particular strategies are effective in improving healthcare processes and outcomes. Development of the new eHealth QUERI will help to address these issues. Efforts of the Cross-Cutting Workgroup have been folded into the ongoing work of the newly established eHealth QUERI. External Links for this ProjectDimensions for VADimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.Learn more about Dimensions for VA. VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address. Search Dimensions for this project PUBLICATIONS:Journal Articles
DRA:
Health Systems Science
DRE: Treatment - Observational, Prevention Keywords: Care Management, Education (patient), Patient-centered Care MeSH Terms: none |