Patient-Provider Electronic Messenger in Chronic Illness

描述（由申请人提供）：患者和提供者之间的有效沟通是慢性病护理的重要组成部分。电子信息显示出作为支持慢性病患者与其提供者之间沟通的工具的前景。然而，很少有人知道使用网络在慢性病患者的临床护理的影响。在本研究中，我们的目的是更好地了解电子信息在慢性疾病患者护理中的作用。 我们建议进行回顾性分析的一个大型和统一的患者安全消息传递应用程序在组健康合作社（GHC）。我们将研究患有以下一种或多种疾病的患者：抑郁症、充血性心力衰竭和糖尿病。对于这些人群中的每一个，我们将首先描述选择与医疗保健提供者一起使用SM的患者的特征。其次，对于糖尿病患者，我们将评估SM使用与更安全，更有效的医疗护理的潜在关联。 上述目标的结果将有助于为慢性病患者提供未来在线医疗服务的开发和评估。

DESCRIPTION (PROVIDED BY APPLICANT): Effective communication between patients and providers is an important component of chronic illness care. Electronic messaging shows promise as a tool to support communication between patients with chronic disease and their providers. Little is known, however, about the impact of using the Web in the clinical care of patients with chronic disease. In the present study, we aim to better understand the role of electronic messaging in the care of patients with chronic medical conditions. We propose to conduct a retrospective analysis of a large and uniform patient secure messaging application at Group Health Cooperative (GHC). We will study patients with one or more of the following conditions: depression, congestive heart failure and diabetes. For each of these populations we will first describe the characteristics of patients who choose to use SM with their healthcare provider. Second, for patients with diabetes, we will evaluate the potential association of SM use with safer and more effective medical care. The results of the above aims will help inform the development and evaluation of future online health services for patients with chronic medical conditions.