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Electronic Healthcare Resources
Evelina Pickett
HCIS/140
December 22, 2014
Regina Alexander

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Electronic Healthcare Resources
Communicating within the vast fields of healthcare and with patients in the past has been
the cause of confusion, miscommunication, negative feelings on the patients behave, and even
hurtful outcomes on the patient’s health. In today’s electronic world the healthcare facilities have
linked into many sources to bridge the communication gap. The gap bridged between other
providers, patients, public health, research, and many more areas. The resources used are with
websites, applications and multimedia resources.
One website resource is used with the leading hospital, Kaiser Permanente. Patients can
use My Health Manager website to take control of the health care, stay connected with their
physician, watch videos, review test results, find a doctor, or even just stay up to date with
current events (Kaiser Permanente, 2014). Another resource is applications known as eHealth
that can be downloaded to devices offered through our government. The eHealth tools are used
to enhance an individual’s wellness, medical records, health conditions, and resources. For
example, apps can be used for diet and fitness such as the MyFitnessPal. Offering a free app to
the public supports and builds to people’s need to take personal control of their health. To
enhance their product even more they have joined forces with hundreds of restaurants to link
calorie counts and recipes (MyFitnessPal, Inc, 2005-14). On a more personal interaction to
patients multimedia tools are created to communicate and support: Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube, WEB 2.0, blogs, and Twitter (Hackworth, 2011). Health care organizations use the
multimedia tools to give a place for patients to connect with others to share medical stories, ask
medical questions, or stay connected with their local facility. These multimedia tools can also
keep followers up-to-date with new facility changes, staff recognitions, or current health

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information. For example, advertising flu shot updates during the cold and flu season is used to
promote healthy decisions.
Each of the described resources supports the healthcare industry offering a variety of
implications for the consumer. The implications of each resource are to offer a place for
connection between provider, patient, caregivers, and family members. The connection is a
versatile form of use from home, office, as well as away from computers or tablets. The
importance of allowing the consumer a form of easy access to their healthcare that is on a secure
safe network is the most helpful implication. Consumers can now save time by making
appointments from their phone during their busy schedule or can find a new doctor for their child
without having to spend time on the phone. Consumers can also use resources to connect with
other people experiencing the same health issue. Connecting with others can give support to
others, share insight of medical care that has benefited the health issue. Sometimes the
implications for the consumer are just to use a resource for research. Consumers use research for
a health issue in order to find a local support group or just to find an all-natural remedy instead
of medications (Hackworth, 2011).
The healthcare setting is no longer in an office setting, as we have learned, is now on-the-
go with the patients and consumers. The resources provided through healthcare facilities or
providers follow HIPAA guidelines so that patients have the security of privacy. Other forms of
resources support the daily healthy living style with apps to keep track of calories, exercise, and
recipes. Providers have begun to build a closer relationship through electronic healthcare not
only by ease of availability, but by providing links or applications to patients to have more of a
firsthand participation.

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References
Hackworth, B. a. (2011). Academy of Health Care Management Journal, 1-15.
Kaiser Permanente. (2014). Kaiser Permanente. Retrieved December 20, 2014, from Kaiser
Permanente My Health Manager:
https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/html/kaiser/index.shtml
MyFitnessPal, Inc. (2005-14). MyFitnessPal. Retrieved December 20, 2014, from MyFitnessPal:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/