There has been a lot of talk about patient engagement in recent years. Experts believe that using technology like EHRs and patient health records to get individuals more involved in their own care will help improve efficiency, boost outcomes and lower costs. However, the system will likely need to make a few changes to get here.

Sterling Lanier, the CEO of Tonic Health, told Healthcare IT News that the way information is recorded today is far from user-friendly, particularly for patients. Presenting records in a more straightforward manner could be a major boon to patient engagement.

"You have medical forms and medical jargon built for the provider benefit and not the patient," he told the news source. "It's confusing, tedious and full of acronyms - it's an alphabet soup. Patients feel lost. We want to make healthcare work for patients, and the closer we can get to a more accurate view of patient data, we’re better set up to change the way the model works."

The ONC has previously stated that it views encouraging patient engagement as one of the top goals of its EHR incentive program. Senior policy analyst Lygia Ricciardi told Government Health IT that this is because treatment outcomes are largely determined by what patients do on their own time, not in the 10 minutes they spend with their doctor.