- A device, or machine, used to perform or facilitate manual or mechanical work
- Something regarded as necessary to the carrying out of one’s occupation or profession
- A person used to carry out the designs of another; a dupe.
As many of you know, I am moderating a panel on consumer tools today at the Health 2.0 conference. I should have thought of this earlier, but in true Web 2.0 fashion, I wanted to get a sense from the blogosphere what questions would you want to ask my panel about consumer tools?
My panel includes the following:
- Mike Battaglia, Vice President of Strategy of Quicken Health at Intuit
- Marlene Beggelman, Chief Executive Officer at Enhanced Medical Decisions
- Dave Hall, Vice President of Innovations at Health Equity
- Ryan Phelan, Chief Executive Officer at DNA Direct
- Joseph Villa, Chief Operating Officer of Employer Division at Revolution Health
Some of the questions I have come up with so far include the following:
1. In what area will consumer tools have the most impact?
a. Administrative
b. Clinical
c. Financial
d. Consumer Satisfaction
e. Hey, I wasn’t talking about that type of tool.
2. Why is the utilization of Consumer Tools so low?
a. Consumers adoption and utilization of health tools is still in early stage
b. The features and functionality of consumer tools don’t warrant utilization
c. The consumer tools need to be delivered as part of a larger solution
d. There is no incentive or benefit to the consumer for using the tools
e. The consumers refuse to be a passenger on the Health 2.0 bandwagon
3. How will the convergence of health and wealth affect the healthcare landscape?
a. It will be a major force for helping to drive consumer behaviors
b. It will have significant impact as consumers become more aware of financial impact of health choices
c. It will have moderate impact because cost/quality/comparative data is still many years away
d. It will have minimal impact as patients will never become “consumers” until fundamental access, payment, and delivery issues are worked out.
e. It will be but a mere flesh wound on the (de)capitated healthcare landscape.
4. Direct to Consumer testing can be a powerful tool – so why is it so heavily regulated?
a. The regulatory and legislative policies have not caught up with the technology
b. The technology inappropriately displaces the physician as oversee and puts the patient at risk
c. The potential for misuse is so great that government must be actively involved in regulating its practice
d. Consumers just can’t handle the truth
Scott Shreeve, MD 