Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI)

Programs

Human Health Project

last updated Feb 21, 2012

Overview

Legal Status: 
Year Launched: 
2011
Stage: 
Pilot/startup stage
Income Level of Target Population: 
All income levels

Funding

Primary Source of Funding: 
Donor

Technology

Technology Used: 
Computer › Internet
Technology Purpose: 
Improving Diagnosis and Treatment
Summary: 

The Human Health Project (HHP) - http://www.humanhealthproject.org - is an online social network for medical professionals to discuss difficult medical cases, free of charge. HHP seeks to integrate medical expertise from around the world, including doctors, surgeons, nurses, alternative medicine practitioners, dietitians, and counselors. Cases may be submitted by members (medical professionals and patient advocates) and commented on by other members. Outcomes will be collected from case submitters and rated through an evidence-based grading system. These cases will be incorporated into a knowledge database that will be available to both members and the public.

Program goals/rationale: 

To integrate health care workers and patient advocates from around the world to provide free, accessible health solutions as a basic human right for all.

Key program components: 

Anonymity: All data presented on the Human Health Project (HHP) is anonymous. Members help ensure anonymity by only uploading data that it is free of identifying information. All data submitted on HHP is checked for anonymity and quality at every stage by website moderators. This includes submissions at the case, comment, and feedback stages. Any data submitted with identifying information is prevented from display on the website and returned to the member.

Case Introduction and Reasoning: Members of the HHP Network - including medical professionals, patient advocates and other allied health specialists - may introduce cases for comment and discussion. This provides members who are providing care with access to the collective expertise of health professionals throughout the Human Health Project network. Cases are categorized and the entire case is searchable by users of the HHP.

Discussion: Case discussion is conducted as a team approach and centers on members with specialties most pertinent to the patient's needs. This discussion is also open to all members who may have information relevant to the case. A case may begin, for instance, with a discussion among primary care physicians and other specialists of possible diagnoses for the medical condition of a patient. As the discussion progresses, other HHP members may advise the case submitter on the dietary issues present with the condition, and yet others may submit information on alternative holistic treatments or psychological issues involved with the condition. The progression of the discussion will be unique for each case.

Review and Implementation: The submitting HHP member reviews the comments, information and discussions presented and decides on the action to take. The member may decide to embrace some suggestions initially and others later as they see fit. They may request additional information from submitting members or a direct consultation with them in the implementation phase of care. It is incumbent upon the submitting member to judge the information provided and to affect the most positive patient outcome.

Feedback and Understanding: As treatment is implemented and the outcome later finalized, the HHP member completes a patient treatment analysis and outcome summary online. This informs members of the outcome and will later assist others with similar cases. The treatment analyses will be grouped and the outcomes summarized for quick review on the HHP website. HHP members will have the ability to browse the actual discussions that took place for a more detailed review of any submitted case.

As members access cases to review detailed discussions, patient data and actions chosen, they can see trend information on relevant cases. This trend information will continue to grow and change as more data populates the HHP Knowledge Database. The structure of the HHP community will allow the website to become a large and diverse database that grows and changes as new technologies, innovations and combinations of treatment present themselves.

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