Information Therapy: Prescribed Information as a Reimbursable Medical Service

Information therapy changes the way people get health information. Instead of hunting for information on the Web or in bookstores, people will receive the information they need through prescriptions from their doctors, hospitals, or health plans. In their visionary new book, Information Therapy: Prescribed Information as a Reimbursable Medical Service, authors Donald W. Kemper and Molly Mettler lay out both the concept and the practical details of how information prescriptions will become a core and expected part of health care. Information Therapy shows how integrating information prescriptions into health care will improve the quality of care and better meet the demands of today’s consumer. Doctors agree that patients should be well informed about the treatments they receive, but two major barriers impede this objective. First, there is just not enough time in each visit for doctors to fully explain what patients need to know, and, second, much of what they cover is quickly forgotten. Information therapy is the fix, and the result is better-informed consumers, higher-quality care, fewer medical mistakes, and lower health care costs.