Opinion leader empowered patients about the era of digital health: a qualitative study

Abstract

ObjectivesWe aimed to explore the opinion leader empowered patients’ relationship with their medical professionals, their experiences and beliefs about technologies, and how they see the future. We also attempted to determine whether technologies, the access to it or patient empowerment are the main driving forces behind these changes.DesignA qualitative interview study analysed with interpretative phenomenological analysis.SettingAll interviews were conducted and recorded individually with the same trained interviewer via a Skype call.ParticipantsThe study is based on qualitative, semistructured interviews with 11 opinion leader empowered patients from six countries including UK, USA, Australia, Sweden, South Africa and Ireland.ResultsWe identified four superordinate themes emerging from e-patients’ experiences: (1) impact of technology, (2) the meaning of empowerment, (3) the changing physician–patient relationship and (4) expectations for the future. The relationship e-patients have with their physicians is based on efficient communication, proactivity, the desire for asking questions and the use of technologies. The interviews have shown that the rapid development of technology has fundamentally changed the lives of these e-patients, and technology eventually is transforming the physician–patient relationship into a partnership. Regarding the future of the physician–patient partnership, e-patients emphasised that change will rather be cultural than technological.ConclusionsThe interviews have shown that cooperation between technology and healthcare is not enough on its own: the most decisive factor is the return of the human touch and reciprocal communication. All of these suggest that technology is an important ally in the ‘renaissance of medicine’ that starts to treat patients as it should have always had.

Digitally engaged physicians about the digital health transition

“…Similarly to the results of our e-patients study, digitally engaged physicians do not use special technologies the average physicians don't have access to. They just use social media, smartphones, and online consultation [15]. For separating their professional and private lives, physicians use well-designed techniques that optimize their time management.…”

“…The methodological framework of our study is the same that was used by the authors in another study about the experience of e-patients published in BMJ Open [15]. The purpose of the common methodological background was to make the results of the two studies comparable.…”

“…In our previous qualitative study, eleven e-patients, who are considered opinion leaders worldwide, shared their experiences and expectations about the future [15]. They explained that empathy, time, and attention are what e-patients need most from their physicians while using a myriad of advanced technologies in their care [16].…”

The Real Era of the Art of Medicine Begins with Artificial Intelligence

“…The art of medicine requires attention, time, and empathy from physicians while they are treating patients [11]. With the challenging interfaces of electronic medical records, a lot of administrative tasks that need to be handled, and a constant pressure from payers impacting physicians, even the chance for the art of medicine vanishes.…”

Proactivity And Accessibility Of Medical Care: The View Of Young People

“…The proactivity of doctors contributes to the patients' inclusion in rehabilitation activities (Bergholdt et al, 2013), moreover, the active position and orientation of medical teams make the patients generate their own ideas (Henrike & Schultz, 2014). Proactivity is one of the foundations of electronic communication between patients and doctors (Mesko et al, 2019). In addition, proactivity is considered as one of the basic competencies for evaluating the work of staff in a medical organization (Komissarov, 2019).…”