Ten Technologies to Engage Members in Healthy Behavior [Posted in Healthcare IT News]

As the availability of technical consumer healthcare applications continue to grow and with increasing complexity, members can realize the health benefits of technology.  There is also a mutual benefit for healthcare organizations where healthier members lead to higher value care with lower cost.  In order to support members in this process, healthcare organizations can support making these healthy tools available to members.  Here is a look at ten technologies to engage members in healthy behavior.

1)Real-Time Video Communication

Real-time video communication enables a patient to be “seen” by a medical provider from a computer, without actually being geographically together.  Follow-up and consultation can be done one-on-one with medical providers in the comfort of the patient’s home.  Consumer monitoring devices attach to a home computer to allow a medical provider on the other end to see how recovery is progressing, such as a magnified look of a recovering surface wound.  Checking on the patient at-home can ensure that the treatment plan is working.  SBR Health makes these visits possible through their video technology.

2)Mobile Health (mHealth) Apps

Mobile health apps allow members to self-manage and track their health and conditions everywhere they go, using their smartphone or tablet.  The health data collected can also be electronically shared with a medical provider to monitor care.  There are mobile health apps available for every major condition, which makes it possible for relevant content and services to be delivered to the member.  One example is Ubiqi Health’s Migraine app which allows members suffering from migraines to track triggers, record treatments and see patterns.

3)Electronic Personal Health Record (PHR)

The electronic Personal Health Record is a patient-owned digital copy of their health records, including patient data like drug reactions, medications, illnesses, etc.  Since the patient maintains their Personal Health Record, they can quickly share it with any healthcare provider that they choose.  In a medical emergency, the quick availability of this information can help a new physician to determine the best course for treatment.

4)Text Messaging

Text Message is a message that is delivered to an individual’s cell phone.  Healthcare organizations can use this medium to send personalized messages to members, to remind them of appointments, medications, treatment or general motivational messages.  Companies, such as Silverlink, churn through the member analytics to create personalized messages to individuals, which makes communication meaningful to the individual.  Another company, Text4Baby has a popular application for expectant mothers, which sends healthy text messages each week, timed to their baby’s due date.

5)Feature-Rich Member Web Portal

A traditional member web portal offers tools like personal health information and health content.  This traditional offering, enhanced with an online social community makes the member portal more personal and increasingly valuable.  The social elements of the portal would enable members to share and research information to improve community health such as Provider Ratings and Treatment Reviews (within HIPAA Privacy limits).  Myregence.com is an example of a healthcare social community with features such as rewards, ratings, decision support tools and content.

6)Facebook Business Page 

A Healthcare organization can create a Facebook Business Page to extend their communication with members.  Members add this Business Page to their Favorites on Facebook and this lets them see public messages, photos, videos, comments and participate in public discussions, promotions and contests from the organization.  Health organizations can promote health using Facebook’s reach to encourage healthy behaviors and engage in public health conversations.  MayoClinic’s Facebook Page has a large following.

7)Twitter

Twitter works well to offer short, frequent public health tips to members and advertise health events.  Members choose to follow others on Twitter and members see a list of messages (newest to oldest) of everyone that they follow.  MayoClinic uses Twitter well to communicate health tips and promote their open talk-to-a-doctor telephone conference forums.

8)YouTube

YouTube is an online video community.  Healthcare organizations create accounts on YouTube to share videos with the public.  Members can choose to subscribe (free) to the healthcare organization to follow the videos posted by the organizations.  Videos appeal well to visual learners.  MayoClinic uses YouTube to share information about their health facilities and MayoClinic physicians share information about wellness and specialty care.

9)Email
Email is on this list because it is a key tool to engage members, one-on-one, who do not have a smartphone.  Email sent one-on-one between a member and medical professional can make the care more personal and connected.

10)Podcasts
Podcast is a digital talk series that members can automatically have downloaded to their computer; members then listen to downloaded Podcast.  This tool is an additional medium that can be used to push health information to members.  MayoClinic also offers Podcasts.

Save Healthcare Now!

I urge us all to do everything we can to Save Healthcare Now!  I attended the Health Care Quality and Cost Council (HCQCC) - Full Council meeting last week on Wednesday to hear the latest on quality and cost.  This Council in Massachusetts is trying hard to solve the problems around rising healthcare costs in the Commonwealth.  Every time I attend a talk around this topic, I always leave the meeting a bit sad about the healthcare cost crisis that we are in and this time was no different.  In addition, I think about the fact that I had started following this issue about three years ago with my first exposure to this problem at the Massachusetts Medical Society Annual Conference in May 2008.  It is a disappointment that almost three years later, we don't seem to be much better off.

At the HCQCC Full Council Meeting last week, we were reminded of high-level ideas that are in the works to better the quality and cost of care, like ACO's, insurer/provider increase caps, tiering providers/select networks, cost transparency, global payments and risk sharing.  However, the highlight of the meeting for me was two repeated blaring alarms coming from the Inspector General, Gregory Sullivan who pressed that we have to do something NOW.  At the end of last year, there was a public forum for payment reform where public comments received used words like "cautiously" or "slowly" in talking about reform.  The Inspector General illustrated that a common family insurance plan that has a price tag of $21,000 is the equivalent of paying $10/hour from a paycheck!  And with the continued annual increase in healthcare premiums, healthcare affordability is getting farther out of reach and out of control.  While it would be nice to be "cautious" and "slow", we also have to consider that we have to do something NOW if we want to be able to control this crisis.

To me, this problem is so big that it needs EVERYONE to solve it; especially since we are all consumers in this problem.  We should all do a part as patients/consumers, employers, insurers, providers, government and service vendors.

What can we all do now to help lower the cost of healthcare for everyone?  Let's all be mindful of cost in our decisions.  In addition:

Patients/Consumers - Eat and be healthy.  Consider cost too when choosing a Provider.  Consolidate multiple appointments into fewer appointments, if possible.  Be prepared with a full list of what you want to talk about with the Provider.  Share publicly ideas to lower cost.

Employers - Incent employees to be healthy.  Consider selecting plan designs that encourages employees to consider cost when seeking care.

Insurers - Streamline processes (be lean) as much as possible to further lower admin cost.  Keep innovating with new quality plan designs.  Collaborate with other Insurers and Providers to do non-competitive tasks together.

Providers - Streamline processes (be lean).  Keep being thoughtful of cost in recommending and ordering care.  Collaborate with other Insurers and Providers to do non-competitive tasks together.

Government - Encourage, engage and support discussion in the healthcare ecosystem to identify ideas to lower cost.  Be ready to move on good ideas.

Service Vendors - Be innovative and create solutions/systems to lower cost.  Find ways to lower the cost of services billed to clients.

What other high-quality ideas can you think of to save on healthcare?

City of Boston - Ideas to Save on Healthcare

On January 11, 2011, Boston Mayor Menino spoke about the City and mentioned two ways the City of Boston can save on the increasing costs of healthcare. His address titled the "State of the City 2011" was well attended by many government leaders, including Governor Patrick and Senator Brown.

During his speech, Mayor Menino highlighted two different measures to curb the cost of healthcare. The first is an initiative called Neighbor Care. He says, "Neighbor Care will increase the use of community health centers - providing more hours and more services in the neighborhoods." This initiative would also save healthcare dollars through channelling patients to the less expensive community health centers, as opposed to the higher cost big name hospitals. The idea is that common conditions can and should be treated at community health centers/hospitals, while the very specialized conditions would be referred out to the specialty hospitals.

Mayor Menino also spoke about the potential offering of health insurance to City employees that is modeled after the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) which is the self-insured health insurance plan available to State employees. He says "If Boston had the same plan design (as the State), we could save one million dollars a month." The GIC also has an innovative plan design which is comprised of three tiers of physicians. Physicians and facilities that have the highest quality and lowest cost measures are in the "top tier", which have the lowest copay to the patient. The low copay provides an incentive to a patient to goto the "top tier" high quality, low cost physician. The offering of a product like GIC is still in the works and not yet approved.

With the costs of healthcare soaring, many are continuing to find ways to curb the cost. What ideas have you come across?