A Fascinating Behind-the-Scenes Look at Digital Patient Engagement

Prior to the pandemic, many people found it difficult to understand their medical options, especially given the healthcare system's complexity and widespread challenges with health literacy. Now that COVID-19 concerns have exacerbated these challenges, contemporary healthcare organizations must drive patients to act by directing them to appropriate care in both real and virtual locations, as well as teaching these individuals about treatment instructions and adherence.

Why is it necessary for healthcare institutions to have a digital front door in order to engage patients?

Shifting government regulations, changing payer policies, staffing shortages, remote work, and a crash education in telehealth have made providers feel as if they have lived through a decade of change in only two years. According to research by consulting company BCG, many trends in healthcare, such as the push toward providing more care to patients in their homes, are likely to persist. According to the research, two-thirds of healthcare executives say COVID-19 has considerably or moderately altered their company.

Changes in technology and the healthcare ecosystem are expanding patients' decision-making power and redefining their expectations of healthcare providers. Several factors contribute to this, including patients' ability to change their own outcomes based on behavior, financial scrutiny due to cost-sharing models that shift more costs onto the patient, the industry's shift toward evaluating outcomes to determine value delivered to the patient, and the availability of technology solutions that provide patients with more information and the ability to play an active role in managing their well-being.

3 Healthcare Transformations that Meet Patient Expectations-

One of the primary goals of healthcare transformation is to improve the patient and provider experience by enabling flexible bidirectional healthcare exchange.

1. Widespread use of technology: Many of the current breakthroughs and developments in the healthcare field are the product of technology and digitalization.

Technology has brought in a fresh wave of disruption in contemporary medicine all around the world, from hospital management to patient care and medical studies.

Clinical trial efficiency, drug approval efficiency, and research discoveries have all benefitted from technological improvements.

Robotic artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an essential component of today's healthcare system. Emergency replies and patient health history may now be accessed with a single screen click, thanks to health-tech applications and platforms.

2. Decentralization of care: Nothing has sped up the implementation of decentralized care more than the COVID-19 epidemic. Everyone seemed to be utilizing video calls instead of in-person visits – and like it. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the use of telehealth increased by 50 percent in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same time in 2019, and it currently accounted for 17 percent of all outpatient visits. According to a January 2021 study, around 40% of Americans intend to continue utilizing telehealth after the epidemic ends.

3. Increased focus on wellness: Those who already exercise may find their workout regimens becoming stale. There are things you can do to correct this. First, come up with innovative methods to sweat. Start swimming if you're a beginner rider. Go on your first run if you swim. Anything you can do to keep things interesting will keep you lacing up your sneakers day after day.

Conclusion:

Organizations must emphasize the patient experience as healthcare digitizes to create a seamless digital health journey. Patient experience factors include anything from the use of empathy in outreach to the technology that provides information to a patient. When engagement software and methods adhere to the following best practices, they maximize patient activation:

1. Simplify communication channels.

2. Consider the timing of communication.

3. Optimize content.

4. Determine the cadence.

5. Consider the tone.

6. Leverage data to make improvements.

 

References and more details:

Using Patient Engagement Platforms in the Postoperative Management of Patients https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12178-020-09638-8

Patient engagement in the inpatient setting: a systematic review https://academic.oup.com/jamia/article/21/4/742/763163

Digital Storytelling as a Patient Engagement Approach https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10497323211027529

Quantifying Patient Engagement in Total Joint Arthroplasty Using Digital Application-Based Technology https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883540321003843

Software for patient engagement needs https://www.thehealthscore.com/product/

Patient Engagement Is Related to Impairment Reduction During Digital Game-Based Therapy in Stroke https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/g4h.2016.0108