Thanks in part to digital technology, patients are taking control of their healthcare in a way they never have before, said WebMD CEO David Schlanger.
Yet, almost half of Americans have at least one chronic disease, and that number is expected to continue growing.
At the Cleveland Clinic’s Patient Experience: Empathy + Innovation Summit today, Schlanger explained that although patients have access to seemingly endless amounts of information, much of it isn’t helping them manage their health.
Schlanger mentioned activity trackers as just one example of that, citing recent data that 1 in 10 Americans have one, but a third of those people stop using it within six months.
“It’s tempting to think that more information and data is going to solve the problem, but I don’t think that’s the issue,” he said.
Instead, to get people to leverage technology to take control of their health in a positive way, he thinks there are two things that need to happen.
“We have to provide not just information and data, but information and data that provides personalized insights and calls to action for patients,” he said.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Secondly, patients need to be digitally connected to their physicians so that they can be more proactive in managing their care beyond sporadic office visits.
That’s where health IT innovation comes into play. A number of companies are developing apps or web platforms that personalize care plans for patients. And some hospitals are trying out programs that connect physicians with patients via text or email.
Interestingly, WebMD – known as a provider of health and medical content – is hoping to be at the center of all that.
“We’re investing in technology to become the place where consumers manage, access and store all of their health data,” Schlanger said.
The company acquired patient portal startup Avado last fall, and Schlanger said it was working on a collaborative care record that will include pharmacy data, lab data, manually entered information and biometric device data. Users will be able to share that data with whoever they choose, he said, and they’ll also be able to securely communicate with their physicians electronically through the platform.
Next month WebMD will launch a new version of its flagship app that includes a health improvement program intended to encourage overweight and type 2 diabetic users to engage in healthy habits. They’ll be able to onboard data from devices and share it with physicians, so that care providers can potentially flag issues earlier.
“Think about an issue like congestive heart failure, where weight and blood pressure need to be monitored because they’re indicators of potentially diminishing heart function,” he said. “In a connected ecosystem, consumers will be able to use a wireless scale and wireless blood pressure devices to monitor their weight and blood pressure daily, send it in real time to the physician’s office, and allow physicians to intervene early and therefore create better outcomes and a better patient experience.”
