The Digital Dilemma: Navigating Ehealth Literacy and Healthcare Tech
With an increased focus on digital information and technologies to improve patient outcomes in the healthcare setting, pharmacies have adopted various technology-based products and services to benefit patients. However, if resources and understanding are not in place, a digital divide can consequently exist. This creates health inequities among patient populations with low versus high utilization of these technologies. There are many factors to consider to ensure equal patient access, such as age, education level, physical availability of resources, and experience with technology. Pharmacists are highly utilized resources in the community setting, and therefore have the unique opportunity to assess patients’ ability and willingness to use technology as well as offer strategies to limit resulting health inequities. This presentation will help pharmacists understand the challenges patients face when dealing with technology in the healthcare setting and how to balance the pressure towards digital products and services with patients’ unique needs. The course will incorporate knowledge-based questions and interactive case studies to emphasize how pharmacists may come across these situations in their daily practice.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, the participant should be able to:
- Describe the historical landscape and future goals of technology use in the healthcare setting.
- Identify how each layer of the digital divide plays a role in the adoption of technology among patients.
- Explain how patient-focused digital products and services offered in the healthcare and pharmacy settings can improve patient outcomes.
- Determine factors contributing to patients' ability and willingness to use technology as part of their healthcare experience.
- Given a patient case, recommend meaningful technology-based products and services according to patient needs.
Presenter
Olivia Ruthsatz, PharmD, RPh
Olivia Ruthsatz, PharmD, RPh is a MCPHS University Post-Graduate Fellow at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, she received her PharmD degree from Purdue University in May 2019. At Novartis, she works within Clinical Sciences & Innovation where she assists in the planning and execution of clinical trials. Olivia will also be involved in various teaching and scholarship activities during her two-year fellowship program as MCPHS Adjunct Faculty. Through her rotational experiences as a student, she has professional interest in addressing challenges in healthcare access, identifying social determinants of health, and ensuring safe medication use.
Registration Fee: This module is provided free of charge.
Release Date: November 25, 2019
Expiration Date: November 25, 2022
Contact Hours: 1.0 (0.1 CEU)
ACPE UAN: 0026-0000-19-018-H04-P
ACPE Topic Designator: Pharmacy Administration
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences designates this educational activity for a total of 1.0 contact hours (0.1 CEUs).
In order to receive credit, the participant must view the entire presentation and complete the pre and post-test, and evaluation. Upon completion participant credit will be reported to CPE Monitor. Transcripts may be printed from CPE Monitor.
It is the policy of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Continuing Education to ensure balance, independence, objectivity and scientific rigor in all of its educational activities. All individuals engaged in the planning of a continuing education activity and who are in a position to control the educational content are required to disclose any financial relationships with ineligible companies occurring within the past 24 months. The intent of this policy is to identify and mitigate any potential conflict of interest that may directly or indirectly affect the activity. All recommendations involving clinical medicine must be based on evidence accepted within the medical profession.
MCPHS will identify, review and mitigate all conflicts of interest that speakers, authors or planners disclose prior to an educational activity being delivered to learners. Disclosure of a relationship is not intended to suggest or condone bias in any presentation but is made to provide participants with information that might be of potential importance to their evaluation of a presentation.
Olivia Ruthsatz has no financial relationships with ineligible companies, related to the content of this presentation.
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Continuing Education staff members hold no financial relationships with ineligible companies, related to the content of this presentation.
No funding from industry provided for this event. No exhibitors will be present.