Health IT, Hospitals, Patient Engagement, Startups

A smart way to organize patient groups: Health status + level of engagement

There are lots of hard things about healthcare – the people, the technology, the bureaucracy. […]

There are lots of hard things about healthcare – the people, the technology, the bureaucracy. One of the biggest challenges is that healthcare is the opposite of “one size fits all.” Population health has some promise, but we are a long way from any kind of “mass personalization” that could get the right care to the right person at the right time.

Before we get to that wondrous state of health data nirvana, these four patient categories from a recent study by Parks Associates are a good start.

I like how the analysts have organized the information by tech tendency, health status and level of engagement.

The four categories are:

  1. Healthy and engaged – Health conscious, don’t have chronic health problem
    • Offer the greatest market potential for digital health products and services.
    • Regularly exercise and eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
    • Have higher incomes, on average.
  2. Challenged but mindful – Health conscious, have chronic health problem
    • Offer the second-greatest market potential for digital health products and services.
    • Regularly exercise and eat fresh fruits and vegetables but have a chronic health condition.
    • Older consumer segment; unlikely to have children in the home.
  3. Unhealthy and in denial – Not health conscious, have chronic health problem
    • Offer the third-greatest market potential for digital health products and services.
    • Lower income levels, on average; disproportionately likely to live in the Midwest and South.
    • Do not habitually exercise or eat fresh fruits and vegetables; have a chronic health condition.
  4. Young and indifferent – Not health conscious, don’t have chronic health problem
    • Lowest market potential for digital health products and services.
    • Youngest segment; low income levels; least likely to be married.
    • Express the most enthusiasm for technology products and services.
    • Healthy but do not habitually exercise or eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

This categorization is not perfect – obviously not all young people are completely healthy and there are degrees of engagement even within the “mindful” groups. There are people in their 20s who have serious health problems and are very engaged with technology. However, these four categories are a good starting point for entrepreneurs and companies working on patient engagement.

The report, “The Digital Health Consumers: A Lifestyle and Technology Segmentation,” is based on a survey of 2,500 people who have a broadband connection and was done in late 2013.

Veronica Combs

Veronica is an independent journalist and communications strategist. For more than 10 years, she has covered health and healthcare with a focus on innovation and patient engagement. Most recently she managed strategic partnerships and communications for AIR Louisville, a digital health project focused on asthma. The team recruited 7 employer partners, enrolled 1,100 participants and collected more than 250,000 data points about rescue inhaler use. Veronica has worked for startups for almost 20 years doing everything from launching blogs, newsletters and patient communities to recruiting speakers, moderating panel conversations and developing new products. You can reach her on Twitter @vmcombs.

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