Digitized 'Passport' Plan Aims to Improve Doc-patient Interaction

Dan Bowman | Fierce Health IT | April 30, 2012

A Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center program to get patients more involved in their own care is getting a digital makeover, according to a report from Healthcare Informatics. Dubbed "Passport to Trust," a BIDMC physician initially created the program as a way to improve in-office visits, according to Healthcare Informatics. It involved doctors creating written summaries of a patient's action plan, which the patient then could review and approve, allowing for care collaboration.

The digital version of the passport will help to improve patient engagement in between visits, according to Healthcare Informatics, and also will enable patients to share their information with multiple providers via an online platform created by Toronto-based NexJ Systems. It isn't expected go live, however, for at least another six months.

The platform, according to an announcement released earlier this month, will integrate with the hospital's electronic medical record system, allowing for real-time access to information...