DGIM Generally Speaking

Did you Know: Patient Engagement and Education Resources for Primary Care

MGH clinicians have access to a robust set of tools and resources to help engage patients in their care. Engaged patients are shown to have better outcomes and lower healthcare costs. Patient engagement strategies include educating patients about their conditions and empowering them to participate in decision-making about their care. Here are examples of patient engagement tools used in primary care.

Primary Care Office Insite (PCOI)

Primary Care Office Insite (PCOI) is a decision-support tool that facilitates day-to-day practice for primary care teams at MGH and across Partners. The PCOI website is designed to save time, improve care, and provide quick access to trusted information. Through PCOI, care teams have access to:

• 291 Evidence-based Clinical Guidelines
• 1161 printable Patient Handouts in English & Spanish.
• Clinical Visit Tools and Clinical Access Guides
• Medical Calculators, Useful Forms, and links to helpful Resources

PCOI is accessible through Epic, Partners Applications, and from home. For more information about PCOI, or to suggest topics for guidelines, handouts, or other functionalities, email the team at pcoiweb@partners.org.

Vidscrips

Vidscrips are short, single-topic videos organized into chapters made using the Vidscrip app on an Apple or Android device. Topics range from clinical conditions and treatment options to introducing patients to the practice and members of their care team. Videos can be made by anyone in the practice and prescribed to by sharing the video link through email or Patient Gateway, including the URL on paperwork patients receive, or posting on social media. Practices can make as many videos as they wish at no cost. Visit vidscrip.com/massgeneral to view the catalog of videos made at MGH. For more information on creating your own videos, contact Chrisanne Sikora.

Shared Decision Making (SDM)

The goal of the shared decision making (SDM) program is to provide tools and training to help patients and clinicians make well-informed, patient-centered medical decisions. Patient decision aids (DAs) are educational tools that prepare patients to engage in a variety of medical decisions.

The SDM team is available to work with departments and practices to increase use of decision aids and provide feedback to track usage. Click here to learn how to order the DAs in Epic. 

Read more articles from the Summer 2017 edition of Generally Speaking