HCMC launches program to help patients get online

Much of a patient's interaction with their health care has moved online, from checking on test results, scheduling appointments and communicating with doctors.

But at Hennepin Healthcare, a safety net and level one trauma hospital that serves the most diverse patient population in Minnesota, not all patients have access to the internet or a cellphone. So the Minneapolis hospital recently launched a program, called digital navigators, that helped more than 800 people access their health records and other digital tools over the past year.

Making an appointment online takes 30 to 60 seconds, compared to calling and waiting up to 10 to 20 minutes, said Dr. Ryan Jelinek, a physician who is certified in clinical informatics, the application of technology to health care-related problems. More significantly, internet access is a social determinant of health, Jelinek said.

Jelinek launched the hospital's telehealth program during the pandemic and found gaps in usage that pushed him to create the navigators program.

The navigators, who are working toward their college degree or GED, help patients who may have brand new iPhones but are unable to do more than make phone calls or play games, he said. Others do not have any kind of device.

During a typical shift, Minneapolis Community and Technical College student and intern Nancy Holmes goes to patients' rooms to see if they would like to be connected to their charts. If they do not have email, which is needed to set up an account, Holmes, 20, teaches them how to create it.

"Many patients have issues with devices, or even trusting the internet at all," Holmes said.

The navigators work to get patients connected with state and county resources such as Hennepin County's Office of Broadband and Digital Inclusion, which provides digital literacy courses enabling participants go home with a laptop and a Wi-Fi hotspot, free of charge.