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Health Information Technology for Engaging Patients in Diagnostic Decision Making in Emergency Departments

Table 1. Health IT and Patient Engagement in the ED

Table of Contents

Health IT Modality	Current Applications	Potential Barriers	Research Agenda
Electronic Health Record Patient Portals	Reviewing test results Requesting prescription refills Communicating with ED care team Accessing medical records Accessing diagnostic test results Enhancing family engagement in care	Patient accessibility Patient acceptability Limited health or tech literacy User-friendliness Age and racial/ethnic disparities Patient understanding of results	Best practices for communicating test results Followup guidance for abnormal test results Ways to optimize usability, accessibility, and user-centric design Reduction of disparities
Text Messaging	Increasing medication adherence Promoting behavioral changes Educating patients Ensuring appropriate followup Issuing appointment reminders	Privacy issues Financial cost to patient Need for a device with texting capabilities	Effectiveness of postdischarge messaging Patient perceptions on healthcare messaging via text Role in diagnostic safety, such as followup of uncertain diagnoses
Apps	Monitoring symptoms to aid diagnosis Educating patients Facilitating shared decision making (SDM) Communicating treatment options after the initial diagnosis	Variable quality Financial cost to patient User-friendliness Age and racial/ethnic disparities Limited health or tech literacy	Developing high-quality, evidence-based apps Studying effectiveness and patient perceptions of SDM via newly designed apps and other emerging technologies, including virtual and augmented reality

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Page last reviewed February 2021

Page originally created February 2021

Internet Citation: Table 1. Health IT and Patient Engagement in the ED. Content last reviewed February 2021. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
https://www.ahrq.gov/patient-safety/reports/issue-briefs/healthit-ed-table1.html