What’s the story? App helps patients share personal, health information with care providers

Under the best circumstances, physicians and other healthcare professionals have long-term relationships with their patients, and see them often enough to know more than the patients’ medical conditions and histories.

In many cases, however, patients see their care providers infrequently, and don’t have the time or opportunity to share the kind of information – about their lifestyles and health goals, for example – that could support treatment and improve the patient experience.

To make sharing and accessing this information easier, Yale New Haven Health System has launched PatientWisdom, an online application.

Patient Wisdom includes a questionnaire that addresses what is most important to patients, how they feel about their health, who helps with their healthcare decisions, what barriers they face in staying healthy and other topics. Patients can access and complete the questionnaire via MyChart (under Health, PatientWisdom) or the secure YNHHS PatientWisdom web page, ynhhs.patientwisdom.com.

Based on the information patients share, PatientWisdom creates an easy-to-read inSIGHT summary to help the care team know what’s important to each patient as a person. The inSIGHT summary can be viewed in Epic via the Sidebar report. Care team members can view this summary before entering the exam room or hospital room to meet with their patient.

“Patient Wisdom helps patients and family members organize and report important information that might not otherwise be available to their care providers,” said Michael Bennick, MD, medical director, Patient Experience, YNHHS. “This tool can help patients prepare for their healthcare visits, develop better relationships with their care providers and, ultimately, be more involved in their care. It will enhance our ability to provide care consistent with our patients’ beliefs and values.”

To learn more about PatientWisdom, view this short video: https://patientwisdom.com/media/patientwisdom-helps-doctors-learn-whats-important-to-patients