In addition to its recently announced patient engagement framework, the National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) is releasing an affiliated online assessment tool that will help providers and payers evaluate where they stand in this area. NeHC, which worked with HealthCAWS on the platform, says its Consumer eHealth Readiness Tool (CeRT) can be used as a real-time progress evaluator for payers and providers looking to gauge their patient engagement activities. It also can give recommendations to providers on how they can improve.

 “The NeHC CeRT is a concrete resource created to help healthcare organizations measure and grow their patient engagement strategies,” NeHC CEO Kate Berry said in a statement.  “We hope the Patient Engagement Framework in combination with the NeHC CeRT will raise visibility and build awareness for the importance of consumer engagement and help the industry make progress in this direction.  We are pleased to work with HealthCAWS to bring this tool to the market.”

 “It has been exciting to work with the NeHC team and their many colleagues to advance consumer engagement in eHealth,” Rose Maljanian, founder and CEO of HealthCAWS, said in a statement.  “Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health IT,said it best when he commented at a recent meeting that ‘consumer engagement is the blockbuster drug of the century.’  As an industry, we need to focus our resources on programs and tools that encourage our patients to maintain their personal best health, avoid unnecessary care and partner closely with their providers to achieve the best possible outcomes.”

Over the summer, Berry spoke with HCI about the organization’s increased focus on patient enagement in a two-part podcast. Here is part 1 and part 2.