Consumerism is Taking Hold in Healthcare
By Vern Davenport, President and Equity Partner, Medfusion
Twitter: @medfusion
A wave of consumerism is taking hold in healthcare, affecting provider-patient relationships across the country. Escalating health plan deductibles, the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces, and most importantly, advances in information technology are causing patients to think more like consumers in regards to how and where their healthcare dollars are spent and if they’re truly receiving value for their money.
Providers must embrace this shifting dynamic and move beyond the traditional provider-patient relationship to ensure patient commitment and loyalty. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation concluded in a 2013 policy brief published in Health Affairs that “a growing body of evidence demonstrates that patients who are more actively involved in their healthcare experience better health outcomes and incur lower costs.”
Providers can differentiate themselves to consumers in this evolving market by offering abundant online communication, tools and access to consumers’ personal health information. Providers should also be prepared for an impending tsunami of patient-collected data from home health-monitoring devices or mobile device applications, which will likely require workflow and other operational modifications as consumers will expect to have this data reviewed and put into clinical context for full effect. In greater detail, providers should take the following three steps to prepare their organization for the increased consumer mindset among existing and prospective patients.
- Keep it simple– Patients overwhelmingly want control over and access to their medical records. They don’t want to log into several different patient portals to view test results, prescription information and physician instructions. By choosing interoperable patient-facing technology, untethered to any specific EHR system, consumers will have the unfettered access to the information they desire, regardless of the record keeper, and will be able to receive all this information with one simple, easy-to-use tool.
- Embrace mobility– More than 68 percent of U.S. consumers own a smartphone, and with tablets, these devices are rapidly becoming the primary method of Internet use within most households. In mobile environments, patients’ health information must be available on a user interface optimized for smaller touchscreens. Yet even in 2014, large, sophisticated health systems are forcing patients to interact with desktop versions of patient portals on smartphones and tablets, which leads to disengagement with the technology and the provider.
- Leverage data for personalized care– Recent business agreements announced from major consumer electronics companies, EHR system vendors, and healthcare delivery systems indicate that numerous industries expect the healthcare consumer to be a major contributor to the influx of data arriving in practices and hospitals in the near future. Some of this data will be collected from fitness and wellness apps linked to biometric sensors capturing heart rate, weight, and calories burned. Other patient-gathered data will be sourced from prescribed devices tracking important metrics such as blood pressure, blood sugar or heart rhythm. Regardless of the source, all of these devices will be flowing information to providers who must be prepared to collect and analyze the data to monitor progress and prevent an adverse event. Information systems should be equipped for the diversity of software platforms and applications that will deliver this data.
Eventually, a clinical support staff will be required to manage the influx of patient-collected data and personally intervene with individuals who report metrics outside of an acceptable range. While this staff position may be an added expense for the practice or organization, data-driven interventions can prevent a costly emergency department visit or hospital admission, both of which can impact revenue under value-based payment programs, and can alert providers of any opportunities to close gaps in care.
Consumers will appreciate the outreach. Not only does the personalized care show concern about their health, but it also demonstrates that the organization’s reach extends beyond the walls of the facility and into consumers’ homes, which will further encourage their continued engagement for years to come. Providers who embrace this evolution and view patients as consumers will ensure patient loyalty and commitment within their practice.
About the Author: Vern Davenport is president and equity partner of Medfusion, a leading provider of patient engagement and practice efficiency software. Davenport has decades of healthcare and healthcare technology experience in operations and transformational change. Most recently, he led Medquist where he managed a turnaround and rebranding effort to M*Modal, resulting in a successful privatization process. Previously, Davenport has served as CEO of Misys Healthcare where he led the merger of the company with Allscripts. He has also served as a strategy consultant to the chairman of Quintiles, and has been an executive in companies such as Kodak Health, Siemens Medical, Shared Medical Solutions and IBM.