The Patient-Centered Health Care Revolution: Open, Data & Collaboration

From RWJF’s Pioneer Portfolio:

In a world with abundant, actionable health data – both from electronic medical records and our everyday observations – we will be empowered to make better decisions and our relationships with doctors may significantly change.

I really appreciate this video for a variety of reasons. Not only do I think the way these conversations were visualized is cool but it really points out the key words and ideas that are forming this e-Patient movement. When I first started reading about about the ideas to transform the healthcare system, I got excited because it began to focus on the patient, the individual, as someone taking responsibility for their health; as someone who actually wanted to understand what was going on. For me that resonates with the public health sector in which large groups of people are observed.

If a few individuals began leading this charge and spreading the idea of a balanced patient-provider relationship, then maybe this movement would be something of substance. Not only spreading to health policy and empowering those who readily have access to health information but also changing the landscape for those who get the folded arms and shaking heads from the healthcare system. Public health is about people, it’s about reducing health disparities and giving people the chance they need to lead healthy lives. Often times there are walls and barriers preventing that – it’s time to break them down.