Patients' active use of e-mail, the Internet, PHRs, and social media can improve access to care, enhance patient education, facilitate screening programs, and increase adherence to treatment plans, especially when integrated within the context oí an effective provider-patient relationship.1,4'5 Technology is shifting knowledge (e.g., patients can access guidelines for care on the Internet or read their own EHRs), power (e.g., social media sites allow patients to share information about care and providers), and decision-making ability toward patients.2·6 Patients find their increased access to information and their own medical records empowering.2 So how can we as providers embrace technology in our relationships with patients and use it to improve our communication with them? Integrating PHRs Into Practice PHRs are not discussed in this issue's research section, but be on the lookout for an article on this topic in our fourth issue of this year. pHRs are a tool individuals can use to share health information, track health and behavioral outcomes, and make themselves better-educated consumers of health care.9 Numerous PHRs are available and provide options to easily store, track, and display information (e.g., glucose or blood pressure readings) and share these results with providers, thereby improving care.\n Patients can shop around and compare care options and outcomes through social media platforms such as PatientsLikeMe.com.3 Blogs, tweets, and other forms of social networking leave behind the traditional medical model of oneto-one communication carried out in person or over the telephone and enable communication from one to many (via a blog post or a tweet) or from many to many (as on one's Facebook wall).3 Rachel Baumgartel, who lives in Boulder, Colo., keeps a personal blog (http://talesofmy30s. wordpress.com/) and sends tweets almost daily to dozens of people at a time....

Technology and Patient-Provider Interactions: Improving Quality of Care, But Is It Improving Communication and Collaboration?

10.2337/diaspect.23.3.142