August 3, 2007 
I think the Information Therapy concept is a great way to think about consumerism and information in the healthcare space. I was recently reviewing a presentation by Healthwise which pointed out 3 Simple Rules:
- Self Care Rule – helping people do as much for themselves as possible
- Guideline Rule – helping people ask for the care they need…giving them the guidelines
- Veto Rule – helping people say “no” to care they don’t need
Another place where you can learn more about this concept is at the Center for Information Therapy. From a health plan perspective, here is one of their white papers which will help you begin to conceptualize this.
The key here is that we should be able to use data to trigger information events that are personalized to people. This obviously needs to be actionable information that is in a format and uses terminology that patients can understand. There is a huge difference between data and information. Lots of data is sent to patients along with a typical “barfing” of information with no context or prioritization.
It is a great opportunity. Lots of healthplans and consumer sites are embracing this. As this gets refined and becomes mainstream, it can help drive wellness and a change in ownership for healthcare where consumers really feel responsible and can act responsibly for their care.
You can also look at Josh’s blog for more ongoing dialogue.
Enabling Healthy Decisions 