LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Medical Clinic doctors might not make house calls, but patients can now at home or office access their medical records, make appointments, ask questions of their primary-care physicians, all electronically and securely. Kaua‘i Medical Clinic (and Wilcox Memorial
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Medical Clinic doctors might not make house calls, but patients can now at home or office access their medical records, make appointments, ask questions of their primary-care physicians, all electronically and securely.
Kaua‘i Medical Clinic (and Wilcox Memorial Hospital) and Straub Clinic & Hospital are the first two Hawai‘i Pacific Health affiliates to launch MyHealthAdvantage, according to an HPH press release.
MyHealthAdvantage is a free, online patient health management system that allows registered patients to access and manage their medical records and communicate with their doctors online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“MyHealthAdvantage is part of our clinically integrated system of care to ensure patients here on Kaua‘i get all of their recommended preventive, acute and chronic care,” said Dr. Geri Young, pediatrician and chief medical officer at KMC.
“This system will enable us to emphasize proactive care (helping to ensure that people do not get sick) (helping people to stay well) as opposed to the previous standard of only reactive care (waiting until a person gets sick and then taking care of them),” she said.
“We will do both, of course, but we feel that proactive care with our patients working in partnership with their physicians will help decrease the amount of reactive care,” Young said.
“Hawai‘i Pacific Health, of which the parent company of Kaua‘i Medical Clinic is a part of, is transforming the way medicine is practiced in Hawai‘i. Central to this partnership between primary care physician and patient is our computerized medical record system and the patient’s access to that system,” said Young.
MyHealthAdvantage is designed to help patients become more involved in managing their own healthcare needs, states the release.
It provides them with personalized, secure online access to portions of their medical records and increased communication with their primary care physicians.
By putting patients in control, MyHealthAdvantage aims to prevent illness, promote health and wellness, and provide chronic care management for patients who need it. By doing so, the program will also help to reduce the rise in healthcare costs, according to the release.
MyHealthAdvantage is part of Hawai‘i Pacific Health’s HealthAdvantage program. Under this strategic new direction, healthcare professionals proactively provide care through a wellness and prevention-based approach that focuses on making sure patients receive all their recommended care, the release states.
According to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine, Americans receive only about 50 percent of the recommended care for acute, preventive, and chronic disease.
HealthAdvantage is aimed at improving this statistic and is modeled after very successful national programs, most notably the quality improvement initiatives created by the Geisinger Health System.
Hawai‘i Pacific Health laid the foundation for this strategic approach over the past five years when it implemented electronic medical records (EMR) throughout its network, the release states.
Hawai‘i Pacific Health is ranked among the top 3.7 percent of hospitals nationwide to be recognized for EMR adoption, according to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
EMR is proven to result in a higher quality of care that is better coordinated and integrated among clinical staff, the release states.
“MyHealthAdvantage offers a unique approach to healthcare. It bridges the gap between doctors and patients, empowering patients to become partners with their doctors and truly manage their care proactively,” said Dr. Dale Glenn, chief of family medicine at Straub Clinic & Hospital.
“Hawai‘i Pacific Health hospitals are transforming the way medicine is practiced in Hawai‘i. We’re working with our integrated clinics and hospitals statewide to deliver care to patients, when and where they need it.”
MyHealthAdvantage offers a secure online connection fully compliant with federal and state privacy laws, the release states.
Patients at Kaua‘i Medical Clinic wishing to participate in MyHealthAdvantage can obtain an activation code during their next appointment with their primary care physician, or by calling the MyHealthAdvantage activation line toll-free at 1-877-228-1894.
The Web site is www.hawaiipacifichealth.org.
