What do caregivers want from Health Information Technology (HIT)? Most caregivers, people at the center of care, don’t think about HIT. They think about what they need to manage individual health, theirs or the person they support:
- Quality of life
- Control of their life
- Peace of mind, rest, respect
- Relief from pain and worry
- Reduction in controllable stress
- Connection to others – not alone
- Common goals for the health journey developed with the person at the center, known by the entire health team
- Plans to meet those goals
- Current medications, schedule of taking, how they affect the taker
- History of medications, what worked and what didn’t
- Members of the health team, professional and lay people, how to reach them and the ability to reach them
- Schedule of events past and future – procedures, hospitalizations, diagnoses, appointments
- The same information in the hands of the entire team including the people at the center that they can understand
- An understanding of real and potential risks and a plan of how to manage those risks when they occur.
- Affordable and accessible care
Over the next few weeks I’ll think about how technology could help with any of these 15 needs. Remember, though, people and relationships first, then technology.
