This post is sponsored by Vree Health.
by John Zicker, COO of Vree Health
Everyone talks a good game on patient engagement. So why isn’t it working – and why aren’t more people sticking with the many innovative apps, platforms and other technologies promising to foster better health?
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Bottom line: There aren’t enough people in the process. People develop trust with other people, not with touch screens.
Even the best technology only goes so far. Apps and trackers can’t provide that all-important human connection. People require more than interactions with cold technology, no matter how personal, intuitive, or human-seeming it might be.
You know how people will exercise more frequently and more thoroughly if they have a trainer right there pushing them? Similarly, such person-to-person motivation is the key to patient engagement platforms.
At Vree Health we’ve achieved some success in addressing the lack of patient engagement stickiness. We do it by providing empathetic people who use motivational techniques to encourage patients to stay engaged. That personal connection can keep patients motivated to take their medications every day, reveal symptoms they may not be divulging to their doctor, show up for follow-up appointments, and so forth.
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At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Using a balanced approach with people that combines personal interactions with automated email reminders provides a good foundation for the patient’s success. These personal interactions can take place across the spectrum of communication channels – from phone calls to texting to mobile apps. The key is to continue to check in regularly.
But it’s important to remember that these are the early days of patient engagement. I think that within five years it will be perfectly normal for the majority of patients in the First World to receive regular communications reminding them to take their medications and congratulating them for meeting their daily walking quota. It will be the norm for patients to have their glucose or blood pressure readings at their fingertips for review at any given moment, day or night.
Patients will routinely track their progress and outcomes working with plans of action in which they, their health care providers, families and caregivers all participate.
That will be a great day not just for patients, but for healthcare and even for the national economy. The result will be a healthier citizenry with fewer hospital readmissions. Insurance companies will be paying less and physicians will have more time to focus on chronic-care patients.
We know that patients who are more actively involved with their healthcare are going to have better health outcomes and lower costs.
It’s simply a matter of finding the right blend of services, technology – and people. And since we’re talking about the issue that’s most important to people everywhere – health – you know we’ll all keep working until we find that perfect combination.
