Engaging Patients with Connected Health Technologies

Meeting Information: December 11, 2014 | 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. | Cambridge, MA 02142

In this workshop, first in a series on connected health and cancer, the President's Cancer Panel and leaders in technology, government, advocacy, and healthcare will explore connected health's potential to revolutionize the way individuals manage their health and chronic diseases, including cancer, to achieve optimal well-being. Presentations will feature trends in technology, patient behavior, healthcare, and policy that are driving changes in patients' interactions with clinicians and healthcare systems. Participants will envision the future of a patient-centered healthcare system powered by enhanced connectivity and describe actions needed to achieve the goal of improved cancer-related outcomes. Questions for exploration include the following:

• Does connected health improve patients' activation, engagement, and patient-provider communication?
• What cancer-related outcomes can be achieved through connected health?
• Would connected health save dollars by using resources more effectively and efficiently?
• What are the best examples of connected health in the real world?
• What is the impact of connected health on diverse patients?
• If the use of connected health successfully advances in the next five years, what would that look like? How could a fully connected healthcare system affect prevention and treatment of cancer and other diseases?
• What aspects of that connected health future state are most important to achieve?
• What are the barriers to achieving more-widespread use of connected health technologies, and how might challenges be addressed?

This workshop is co-chaired by two national leaders in connected health. David K. Ahern, PhD, is Director of the Program in Behavioral Informatics and eHealth at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Special Advisor, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute and Bradford Hesse, PhD, is Chief, Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute.

Presentations and moderated discussions among participants will inform the Panel's recommendations in a formal report to the President of the United States after the conclusion of series workshops.

Join us by live-tweeting during the workshop using #cHealth4Cancer (connected health for cancer).

Agenda

Participants

Summary

The President’s Cancer Panel held a workshop entitled Engaging Patients with Connected Health Technologies on December 11, 2014, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The workshop brought together leaders in academia, technology, government, advocacy, and health care to explore how use of new technologies by health care systems and patients/individuals could transform management of health and chronic diseases, including cancer. Participants discussed the current landscape, ways in which connected health technologies could improve prevention and management of cancer across the continuum, and barriers to realizing the full potential of connected health. Areas of high priority were identified as potential topics for subsequent workshops in the Panel’s series.

Several invited participants presented examples of emerging technologies that are being used by individuals to monitor and self-manage various health conditions, leading to increased patient engagement and empowerment. They also discussed the potential for connected health technologies and strategies to facilitate integration of patient-reported data—including nonclinical data—with health system data in order to improve understanding of health and disease, support clinical decision making, and promote healthy behaviors.

Workshop participants reflected on the desired future state for connected health from the perspectives of individuals, clinical institutions, and society. A key theme that emerged is that it is not sufficient to put patients at the center of existing health care systems. To be effective, health care must become integrated with and adapt to the real-world environments in which people live. Central to this paradigm shift is the need to recognize, understand, and take into account the many social, cultural, and economic factors that influence health and health-related decision making. Connected health can support this integration, in part by allowing individuals to more fully engage in their own care and gain access to not just their own health data, but also to a larger pool of shared population data.

To capitalize on opportunities afforded by connected health, clinical institutions must improve the ways they capture, analyze, and provide access to data. Careful consideration must be given to policies, regulations, and informed consent processes to ensure that data can be utilized effectively by providers, researchers, and patients. Novel analytic methods may be needed. It also is important that, starting with the design phase, technology developers solicit input from target users—including traditionally underserved populations—and take into account the systems in which technologies will be used.

Results from this workshop will inform planning for subsequent meetings in the Panel’s series on connected health and cancer. Findings and recommendations from the series will be presented in the Panel’s 2014–2015 Annual Report to the President of the United States.

Download the full summary.