E-patient

An e-patient is a health consumer who participates fully in his/her medical care. E-patients see themselves as equal partners with their doctors in the healthcare process. E-patients gather information about medical conditions that impact them and their families, using the Internet and other digital tools.^[1] The term encompasses those who seek guidance for their own ailments and the friends and family members who go online on their behalf. E-patients report two effects of their health research: "better health information and services, and different, but not always better, relationships with their doctors."^[2]

E-patients are active in their care and demonstrate the power of the Participatory Medicine or Health 2.0 / Medicine 2.0.^[3] model of care. The "e" can stand for "electronic" but has also been used to refer to other terms, such as "equipped", "enabled", "empowered" and "expert".^[4][5]

The current state of knowledge on the impact of e-patients on the healthcare system and the quality of care received indicates:

• A growing number of people say the internet played a crucial or important role as they helped another person cope with a major illness.^[6][7]
• Many clinicians underestimated the benefits and overestimated the risks of online health resources for patients.^[8][9][10]
• Medical online support groups are an important healthcare resource.^[11]
• “…the net friendliness of clinicians and provider organizations—as rated by the e-patients they serve—is becoming an important new aspect of healthcare quality.”^[12]
• According to one study, the advent of patients as partners is one of the most important cultural medical revolutions of the past century.^[12]
• In order to understand the impact of the e-patient, clinicians will likely need to move beyond "pre-internet medical constructs."^[12]
• Medical education must adapt to take the e-patient into account, and to prepare students for medical practice that includes the e-patient.^[1]

A 2011 study of European e-patients found that they tended to be "inquisitive and autonomous" and that they noted that the number of e-patients in Europe appeared to be rising.^[13] A 2012 study found that e-patients uploading videos about their health experienced a loss of privacy, but also positive benefits from social support.^[14]

See also

• Doctor–patient relationship
• eHealth
• mHealth
• Patient opinion leader
• Treatment decision support
• Virtual patient

References

External links

• van Woerkum CM (1 April 2003). "The Internet and primary care physicians: coping with different expectations". Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 77 (4 Suppl): 1016S–1018S. PMID 12663310. 
• Susannah Fox; Pew Internet; American Life Project (2004-09-27). "Today's E-Patients: Hunters and Gatherers of Health Information Online". 

• Ferguson, Tom (2007). e-Patients: How They Can Help Us Heal Health Care (PDF). 
• Rimer BK, Lyons EJ, Ribisl KM, et al. (July 2005). "How New Subscribers Use Cancer-Related Online Mailing Lists". Journal of Medical Internet Research. 7 (3): e32. PMC 1550655 . PMID 15998623. doi:10.2196/jmir.7.3.e32. 
• Meier A, Lyons EJ, Frydman G, Forlenza M, Rimer BK (2007). "How Cancer Survivors Provide Support on Cancer-Related Internet Mailing Lists". Journal of Medical Internet Research. 9 (2): e12. PMC 1874721 . PMID 17513283. doi:10.2196/jmir.9.2.e12. 
• The rise of the e-patient, Lee Rainie from the Pew Internet and American Life Project presentation at the Medical Library Association, Oct 7, 2009
• E-patients With a Disability or Chronic Disease, from the Pew Internet and American Life Project
• Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR), an aggregate of e-patient online communities for knowledge-sharing about cancer.
• Time Magazine article: "When the patient is a Googler"
• Who Cares Booklet by the Federal Trade Commission, a guide to health information
• Dave deBronkart: Meet e-Patient Dave, video at TED
• Greenwald, Ted. "A Social Network for Crohn’s Disease | MIT Technology Review". Technologyreview.com. Retrieved 2013-09-13. 
• Bhargava, Rohit; Johnmar, Fard (2013). ePatient 2015: 15 Surprising Trends Changing Healthcare.