Being increasingly recognized as a part of healthcare, patient engagement is also key to a people-centered approach. Engaged patients are able to make informed decisions when it comes to their treatment options. Unlike healthcare providers who may have financial, organizational, reputational, and other priorities, patients are driven by their safety and well-being. Empowering them to participate in their own treatment not only improves treatment results and reduces adverse events, but it also advances learning and improves healthcare system.
Society is increasingly asking for more open, transparent, and accessible healthcare systems. People expect to make their own decisions about care programs. Keeping pace with the times now means a given system ought to focus on a patient’s needs, especially when it can benefit all parties involved. Patient engagement in healthcare results in more educated patients, which creates a better understanding between them and their health care providers. They are more confident to report their experience and keep to their care management plan with greater enthusiasm. That results in better health outcomes. But what is even more important, it drives the whole system toward more effective resource distribution. Patient engagement helps to detect care gaps and facilitates the shift toward preventive treatment and treatment of chronic diseases instead of acute conditions.
Patient Engagement And Health Outcomes
Besides obvious outcomes related to a better awareness of the condition by the patient, such as better treatment coordination, lower incidence of adverse effects due to improper medication intake, and healthier lifestyle choices, increased engagement also results in regular appointment scheduling, better preventive treatment, and increased satisfaction levels among patients. Today’s patient engagement solutions offer healthcare organizations special software or platforms where patients can have more effective communication with their providers, auto-reminders to make an appointment, online billing, and scheduling. Besides providing users with reliable medical information, such platforms also make the whole process more convenient for both the patient and provider.
A 2019 study by Accenture illustrated how important such capabilities for patients are. Nearly 50% of patients would change their provider if he did not offer them digital features, such as online scheduling. Around 70% would choose a provider that reminds them about follow-up care and communicates online (through emails, in chats, etc.). Scheduling convenience and auto-reminders affect visit regularity, remind patients about planned check-ups, and increase patient satisfaction. The capability of sending health data online (such as weight, blood pressure, body temperature, or glucose level changes) to the physician promotes the consistent attention of the patient to his own health and allows the provider to intervene early in case if indicators worsen. Process automatization, electronic data, and auto-refilling though apps lessen administrative burdens, and thereby allow organizations to decrease costs.
Patient Engagement Platform
There is not only one correct method of improving patient engagement that will work for all. Though the market of engagement systems is growing, many providers still do not realize how they can affect their practice. There are a variety of options on the market, but most of them are designed for short-term benefits and ineffective for the long term.
When choosing the platform, several factors should be considered. To start with, the platform should be an all-in-one solution, including encrypted online communication, HIPAA compliance (so that secured data can be accessed only by authorized users), online registration and scheduling, visit reminders, bill payments, information about the patient condition (reliable information sources), mobility of the platform (opportunity to use on several devices). It will be even better if there is also a patient portal (community) or something that enables the engagement of family members.
Solve.Care is the leading and most innovative solution on the market. It has all the mentioned features and more. In 2019, Solve.Care, in partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., launched a patient-centric care network on the Solve.Care platform. This platform is available for more than 25,000 patients through the Arizona Care Network (ACN), a leading accountable care organization in the U.S.
Commenting on the collaboration, Pradeep Goel, CEO of Solve.Care, said: “Solve.Care is delighted to announce the introduction of this groundbreaking network onto our platform, which will help address one of the most debilitating diseases afflicting millions of men and women around the world. Boehringer Ingelheim is a global leader in innovative solutions that bring more health to patients, and we are honored by their trust and multi-year commitment to launching one of the most innovative patient-centric networks in the world”.
Fully HIPAA compliant, Solve.Care uses blockchain technologies to encrypt data and coordinate them among all involved organizations, including insurance companies, health care providers, and patients. Digital currency allows providers to receive payment immediately, and platform integration with insurance companies simplifies the administrative process for both the patient and provider.
Kareo software, apart from secure communication, online scheduling, and auto-reminders, also allows an organization to promote their brand online through provider profiles and rating system.
Bridge is another example of engagement software. It interacts with multiple interfaces simultaneously, and can operate on any device. Bridge offers its users personal health records, online bill payment and scheduling, prescription refill, marketing messaging, and task manager.
