Medstar Diabetes Institutes piloted a diabetic patient portal called eHealth2go to help disadvantaged Type 2 diabetes patients manage their disease. eHealth2go allowed patients to track glucose readings, receive alerts for out-of-range readings, access care plans and health journals, and securely communicate with providers. In the pilot, patients saw significant reductions in HbA1c and blood glucose levels as well as increased eHealth literacy and satisfaction. Medstar has since expanded eHealth2go to more patients and added features like a mobile interface and disease-specific centers.

1. Challenge
Consistent with an institutional-wide
focus on leveraging IT to improve
outcomes, the Medstar Diabetes
Institutes decided to pilot a study to
determine whether a diabetic patient
portal would help its most disadvantaged
Type 2 diabetes patients and their
providers manage this disease.
Solution
eHealth2go focused on providing tools
for diabetic patients to collaboratively
manage care with their providers and
family members. Patients utilized the
OneTouch Glucometers that uploaded
directly into the patient portal so that
patients and providers could track
readings and trends overtime.
For out-of-range readings, the patient
and the care management team received
alerts that facilitated action. Care plans
provided the necessary tools to take
corrective measures to help manage
clinical measures and improve overall
care. Health journals enabled patients
to see correlations between diet,
exercise and outcomes. Reports
generated through eHealth2go spurred
value-added communication because
a record of the time between office
visits was captured through the portal.
MedStar, recently, launched an updated
version of eHealth2go to reach a broader
spectrum of their patient population.
The new version includes a mobile
interface for patients to access and
monitor care more effectively and
efficiently. They added disease centers
to include a general wellness center,
diabetes/diabetes prevention center,
heart failure center and kidney center.
Each of the disease centers incorporates
personal health information, care plans
and educational material specific to the
intended cohort of patients.
Benefits
In its pilot deployment to a low
socioeconomic and elderly diabetic
patient population, MedStar patients saw
significant reduction in HbA1c (9.3% to
7.7%) and in Blood Glucose (181 mg/dl to
153 mg/dl) as well as positive increases
in eHealth Literacy levels and patient
satisfaction. During follow-up surveys
and interviews, patients in the study
said that they found ways to access
computers such as going to the library
or a family member’s house because
they saw the value in utilizing the
breadth of tools provided in eHealth2go.
Additionally, the simplicity of the charts
provided added valuable and increase
usability. For example, if a patient’s Blood
Glucose was too high, then it would
appear in a color coded chart as out-of-
range. By simply providing visual aide,
patients who were out-of-range knew
that they should consult their care plans
provided in eHeatlh2go.Messages were
also automatically sent to the patients
care management team at the
patient’s discretion.
Relevance
This project has received numerous
awards for its innovation with the
Medstar population. Awards include
the 2011 Microsoft Innovation Award
and the 2011 Promising Practice Award
of Excellence at the 4th American
Diabetes Association Disparities Forum.
eHealth2go, supports care coordination
and enables patient engagement
for diabetes/diabetes prevention,
heart failure, kidney disease and
general wellness.
eHealth2go for MedStar Health https://www.ehealth2go.org
Case Studies
MedStar Health is a $4.4 billion not-for-profit, regional healthcare system with a network of 10 hospitals and 20 other
health-related businesses across Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region. MedStar Health has a patient-first
philosophy that combines care, compassion and clinical excellence with an emphasis on customer service.
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“eHealth2go
focused on providing
tools for diabetic
patients to collaboratively
manage care with their
providers and
family members.”
This case study is for informational purposes only. GET REAL HEALTH MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Publish Date: April 2013.