One of the five pillars of meaningful use instructs providers to "engage patients and their families in their health," and it is vital to begin engaging patients in the readiness assessment phase. Before implementing an electronic health record (EHR), providers should assess how patients will react when the practice begins using an EHR. Gauging patient reaction to an EHR will indicate how much financial and human capital will need to be spent educating patients about EHRs.

Involving patients in the practice readiness assessment is important for a number of reasons. Patient and family input may help your practice identify how to focus and prioritize activity during the EHR implementation by pointing out issues most important from their perspective. Patients may also identify barriers to EHR implementation previously unseen by providers. Lastly, patients and their families are also impacted by EHR implementation and involving patients in the practice readiness assessment phase increases the likelihood of patient understanding and cooperation and diminishes the likelihood of patient resistance during EHR implementation.

There are many ways to engage patients in the assessment process. Providers can organize patient focus groups, conduct patient surveys, or elicit feedback from patients during visits. The type of patient engagement used will depend on the amount of financial and human capital your practice/hospital/health center can devote to patient engagement.