Health Information Rx Pilot

1. Health Information Rx Pilot National Library of Medicine American College of Physicians Foundation December 17, 2003

2. Project Goals • Educate and support physicians in referring their patients to MEDLINEplus for health information • Increase physician awareness • Support referral process by providing resource materials • Test Information Rx in IA and GA

3. Project Goals • Evaluate • change in physician awareness • resource materials • use of MEDLINEplus by patients

4. Approach • Project materials • Centerpiece is customized Rx pad • Posters, bookmarks, patient card • Letter and response card • Mailing to librarians • Evaluation • Special urls to topic pages • Email address for patient feedback • Pre and Post-project questionnaires

5. Health Information Prescription Partners: American College of Physicians American Society of Internal Medicine Foundation

6. Prescription Pad

7. Participants • 517 physicians • 398 Georgia • 119 Iowa • Launches March/April

8. Health Information Rx Pre-Pilot Email Use n = 525 Do you currently communicate with your patient via email?

9. Patient Education Pre-Pilot Resources Used n = 511 Which of the following types of patient education resources do you use in your office?

10. Health Information Rx Pre-Pilot Website Referrals n = 308 To which of the following Internet sites do you refer your patients?

11. Websites to Which Patients Are Referred: Percent Ranked 1st or 2nd Out of 5Post-Pilot 70% 35% 16% 15% 14% 7% 5% 5% 8% n = 216 15%

12. Change in Number of Patient Referrals to Internet n = 210 Since participating in Information Rx Pilot, has the percentage of patients you refer to the Internet for information increased, decreased, or not changed?

13. Reasons Patients Are Not Referred to Internet Please indicate your reasons for not referring patients to the Internet for health information.

14. Perceived Benefits of Referring Patients to MEDLINEplus n = 196 In what ways has your practice benefited by your referring patients to MEDLINEplus?

15. Agreement that MEDLINEplus“Improves Patient Understanding of Difficult Concepts/Procedures” n = 210 MEDLINEplus improves a patient’s understanding of difficult concepts and procedures

16. Incidence of Referring Patients to Public Library for Health Information n = 208 Do you refer your patients to the local library for health information?

17. Impact of Local Library Support on Willingness to Refer Patients to MEDLINEplus n = 209 Would it increase your willingness to refer patients to MEDLINEplus if local libraries provided free access to the Internet … and assistance in locating health information?

18. Health Information Referral Pilot Resource Use n = 216 Which of the following resources have you used?

19. Additional Physician Feedback • Focus discussions in GA • Very positive • Site easy to use • Simplify Rx pad • Basic info about site for patients • Need email reminders • Advertise directly to patients

20. Additional Physician Feedback • Telephone interviews • Rated program 4.4 on 5 point scale • Rx pad most used item • Suggestions for improvement indicate more education needed • Want email reminders

21. Patient Feedback • Survey on ACP site • Few filled out; unanimous praise • URL counts small • Exploring other ways to get feedback

22. Next Steps? • Expand to Virginia in January • Revise materials • More patient feedback • Media • Involve libraries • More information and periodic email reminders