Presentation: From PHRs to Participation (A little inspration back and forth at AHRQ)

AHRQ

Where the magic happens

I had the opportunity to talk about participation (of patients, families, and communities) in health care and the design of the health system today at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, at the invitation of AHRQ’s Director, Carolyn Clancy, MD, with attendance of experts including Jon White, MD, Director of the Health Information Technology Portfolio for AHRQ.

What can I say except it was a great experience at a place I and many people who do what I do have thought highly of for a very long time.

The slides I presented are below. I want to thank the students in the University of Washington eMHA program for doing a run-through with me. One of the suggestions I was given was to know what I “wanted” in giving this presentation to AHRQ. I told the group that I thought about this, and it was – to inspire them. I think that’s both enough to want, and a lot to want.

The session is/was a reminder to me that in 2008, people who are studying health information technology (a) have a good grasp of the idea that it’s a tool to improve health and health care and (b) the importance of involving patients and families in their care. That, and we should look outside our borders, to places like Africa, to think about innovation in IT beyond the computer.

Inspiration is a 2-way street. Thanks again Bill, Carolyn, Jon and AHRQ for the warm welcome.



Ted Eytan, MD