It's been almost six years since former President Bush declared that he wanted every American to have an electronic health record (EHR) by 2014. President Obama has taken up the cause, citing health IT as an important component the healthcare reform and transformation, and he put our money on it. 

Money may finally increase the health IT adoption rate among physicians, but consumers are a key stakeholder who will determine whether we truly have EHRs across the country. That's why Consumer Engagement in Developing Electronic Health Information Systems, a final report (pdf) issued by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, is a must-read for those who want the vision to become a reality.

The report summarized the findings of 20 focus groups around the country. In a nutshell, while consumers believe that health IT would benefit healthcare quality and increase efficiency while reducing medical errors, they want to be educated on health IT and have a say about the computerization of their data. Not surprisingly, privacy and security were at the top of their list of concerns.

The report noted that public education would go a long way toward familiarizing consumers with health IT. That's a good starting point. While the focus group participants did not think that health insurers should play a major role in deciding how health IT should be designed and used, it's worth bringing up Kaiser Permanente's Thrive campaign.

Kaiser’s 6^th season of Thrive advertisements focus on its advances in health IT, particularly its EHRs. Let me say, I'm not a member of Kaiser. In the interest of self-disclosure, I'll admit that the campaign about the kid who turns his unhealthy lifestyle around was charming and effective; my then five-year-old daughter understood the message that junk food and too much television and video games are bad for children. The new television advertisements introduce Kaiser's EHRs in a way that is not technical but rather patient-centric. In short, it delivers a comfort level with the technology and the message that the technology is in the hands of people who have your health interests front and center.

If a health system, and granted Kaiser fits the bill here, too, or whatever entity decides to take on the responsibility of making consumers aware of health IT wants to create a public awareness campaign of this magnitude, these ads are a good place to start.

Focus group participants voted down vendors, specialized organizations such as AARP or the American Heart Association, the government and health insurers as the entity to educate them. An interesting question: If not any of these guys, who do you think should educate the public on health IT?