The Health Affairs February 2013 issue is titled “New Era of Patient Engagement” and the content matches the title. Nick Dawson describes the day in his blog post Health Affairs is the new shirtless dancing guy Here’s a short extract from the blog post. It’s worth reading, it has other interesting tidbits.

The briefing was a forum for researchers and authors of articles in the February edition to present their work. Many of the topics focused on ways to activate patients or to get patients engaged in their care. Proponents, supported by compelling data, argued activated or engaged patients have better outcomes and reduced costs.

The accompanying briefing audio, speaker’s bios and slides for their special issue on patient engagement are available now.

In the words of one of the Society for Participatory Medicine’s founders, Gilles Frydman

This is hugely important. Activated & engaged patients are called “the blockbuster drug of the century” in an editorial of Health Affairs. That was unthinkable just a couple of years ago. It finally looks like it’s going to be hard to stop that train.

Make sure to also read articles that are available in full for free:

• The editorial Rx For The ‘Blockbuster Drug’ Of Patient Engagement
• Jessie Gruman’s article An Accidental Tourist Finds Her Way In The Dangerous Land Of Serious Illness

More articles and opinions about the Health Affairs issue can be found in the latest #hcsm Review – Health Affairs & Rare Disease Edition hosted by The Afternoon Nap Society. A detailed description of the day can be found in this post too.

Thanks to our members Mark Harmel, Nick Dawson, The Afternoon Napper and Gilles Fryman for links and opinions.