User Driven Health Care: Students as Community Engagement Links

Arindam BasuPrepared for the NZ Tertiary Education

Summit,Christchurch

Internet as a Giant Connected World

Emergence of a Global Mind with Internet as a Metaphor

How Do We Use this to solve a Major Problem?

• Access to Evidence Based Health Information is a Major Challenge to Millions of People in the World

• Patients are Not Where the Experts Are• Patients Have a Set of Information, Providers Have

Another, Need for an Interface• Challenge for future trainees and practitioners of

Medicine• Solve Health Care Access for people in Developing

Countries (South Asia for instance with 1.4 Billion People)

Health Services Is A World of Triads

Cost of Care

Access to Care Quality of Care

The Holy Grail: Highly Affordable Care to both payers and patients (as low as can be), universal access to healthcare, and highest possible quality of care.

Usual: Pick Any Two!

In Health Care, Information is the Key!

In UDHC, You are a User

• Providers– Health Professionals

• Payers– You, in a fee for service system– If you are an insurer or represent Insurance Sector

• Patient– Seek Health Information– Connect and Interact

• Healthcare Professionals, Patients, Anyone with a username on WWW

• U Drive the System!

How Information is Channelled

Sender Shares Primary Information (Starts) to the “list”

Multiple Members of the List Comment, Discuss, and Modify Information

Information is Embellished with Evidence Based Approach to Critically Appraise Relevant Health Related Information and a Response Prepared

This is an example of Conversational Learning in a Health Professional Education Setting

The Information Sheet for the Patients

Information Sheet for the Caregiver

Connect the Triad

Patients

Payers Providers

Medical Students and Trainees

Can We Create a Platform to Bring Students, Experts, Patients All on the Same Board? (Literally!)

So, People got together to create a platform and a Human Driven Operating System to Channel Evidence Based Health Information that Could Solve Tough Challenges … Students were the Key

Information Flow

Conversational Learning Fosters Connection to Community As Well as Connecting to Deep Professional Knowledge

Scope of Trying it in New Zealand?

Apply in Connection with Telehealth, or Other Situations such as in the West Coast where people live in difficult to reach terrains … elderly who cannot commute long distances to reach Primary Care … Telehealth …

The Next Steps

• Join the Network• Contribute Your Questions• Share Your Expertise• Enrich the Community!