I have finally experienced true family-centered care that is integrated with HIT tools. But it’s not been provided to me, my wife, or one of my three sons. The “patient” in this case is my golden retriever, Molly. Despite not having her signed HIPAA consent, I am going to share her family’s story.

Last summer, we finally got around to finding a new veterinarian for Molly–several months after moving. We chose Friendship Hospital for Animals largely because of its proximity to our house. The first appointment (for which I was not present) went fine, but I soon found more reasons to be impressed.

I soon realized that I could sign up for a pet portal. Although it’s true that Molly surf the Web much, she does have a form of “second-degree access” to the Internet via her caregivers (much like my human children).

I signed up and (after a few glitches) quickly had access to a highly functional PHR. It was pre-populated with all the information they had from her last visit and her vaccinations (which will be useful for me to print out the next time I have to leave her at the kennel). Moreover, there was a messaging function embedded into Molly’s PHR to allow for convenient electronic access to her clinicians whenever that was the most convenient form for me.

About a month later, I got a post card in the mail from Friendship–a well-tailored information prescription (Ix). On the cover was a picture of an adorable golden retriever and it told me: “Friendship Hospital for Animals has an important message for…Molly.” The “OVERDUE” stamp was an effective call to action, sparking me to open up the card.

Inside, it tells me: “Your wellness care is important to us and to your human companion.” It proceeded to inform me that Molly was overdue for a Lyme vaccine, and then further concisely explained why it was important. It also gave me information about the pet portal. On the back, there was another helpful wellness tip.

As it turned out, I questioned the evidence base around this particular recommendation because previous vets had recommended that we do the monthly applications to Molly’s fur instead. So I signed onto my pet portal and sent my vet a message. They soon responded (basically I was right in this case; it shows that they pre-packaged PHR program was not based on as solid an evidence base as they or I would like), and I moved on.

In mid-December, Molly developed an infection, so we called the vet on when we noticed it on the weekend and were able to schedule a Sunday morning visit. They took care of her, prescribed an oral and topical antibiotic in house, provided us on the spot with a collar/cone to keep her from scratching at it, and sent us home with a concise but clear after-visit summary about how to manage her infection. Furthermore, despite the fact that we were about to leave town for vacation for 10 days, I knew that–in case something went wrong–my answers to my concerns were just a click (or a phone call if I preferred) away.

It’s nice to know somebody in the family has 21st-century patient-centered care.

Woof!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 5:28 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.