PITTSBURGH – Women Care Associates at Magee Women’s Hospital at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center has rolled out a Web-based patient education platform.

To make sure physicians encourage patients to use it, the hospital has developed a “prescribing” piece as part of the physician incentive program.

Initially the program was rolled out as a risk management tool and also with the idea that “an informed patient is likely to do better than an uninformed patient, said Dennis English, MD, vice president of medical affairs and director of Women Care Associates.

“We believe it’s a quality initiative,” English said. It also helps on the litigation side, too, he said. And in that way, the Web-based patient sessions, created specifically for UPMC by Chicago-based Emmi Solutions Inc., shows a great return on investment, he said, though he could not give the return a specific number.

“If this helps us avoid a law suit, the ROI is probably quite high,” English said.