The Future of Patient Engagement Is Already Here

Hospitals, health systems and ambulatory clinics are on the front lines of care and are looking for ways to navigate health care reform, optimize reimbursement under ever-evolving requirements and, most important, provide the best care experience possible for their patients and families. There are four major trends in business that will have a significant impact on the health care industry.

1. Personalization:This trend has the potential to affect not only health care but any business that provides products and services to consumers. The more personalized an experience is, the more positive and successful it tends to be. Retailers recognized this a long time ago. Amazon remembers what you purchased in the past and suggests items you might want right now. If you have a grocery store customer loyalty card, chances are you receive coupons in the mail for products you buy all the time. Health care is no different. The ability to personalize the care experience (and what’s more personal than health care?) is going to be a winning formula moving forward. Health consumers have choices and they simply want to know that their needs are understood and will be met.

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2. Globalization:This second trend is well-documented but undeniable. Technology has made the world smaller and brought us all closer, opening new markets and introducing us to new opportunities. Countries and cultures that once seemed so different and far away are now right in front of us, and suddenly we don’t look so different to each other after all.

In health care, sick patients just want to get better, and healthier patients mean healthier, more productive communities. The more that health care providers understand that everything we encounter– from business systems and suppliers to our workforces, patients and partners – is becoming increasingly global in nature, the greater the impact on population health, and on a much bigger scale.

3. Digitizationofsociety:Our every movement – what we eat, where we shop, who we socialize with – is being captured, saved and stored as valuable data. While it can be a little unsettling in terms of privacy, the power that “smart” data offers in terms of strategic decision making is simply remarkable.

Predictive analytics are going to guide nearly every direction we take across all lines of business, including health care. Most notably, the Affordable Care Act has mandated the use of electronic medical records and patient portals, giving health care providers a unique tool for maintaining communication and coordinating care with their patients.

4. Demographics:This trend has an impact on every business on earth. As millennials enter the workforce, more baby boomers are retiring. The more we know about our customers – not only their gender, race and age but what motivates them, what concerns them, what they want more than anything – the more we can help meet their individual needs. Of course, age is a big factor when it comes to health care; generally, younger people have fewer recurring ailments than older people. But knowing how motivated or engaged a patient is in his or her own recovery and overall health can go a long way toward helping that person understand his or her condition, manage it and avoid hospitalization.

That’s called patient engagement or patient activation, and it touches all four of the areas I just outlined. Providing personalized treatment and education helps patients recover more quickly and stay healthier longer. Patient engagement has a direct influence on population health. And providing bedside, ambulatory or even at-home interactive education can help ensure delivery of the right information to the right patient at the right time, every time.

Patient engagement is a hot topic. Just do a quick Google search and you’ll get roughly 36 million results. A 2013 Health Affairs Health Policy Brief defines the term as “a broader concept that combines patient activation with interventions designed to increase activation and promote positive patient behavior, such as obtaining preventive care or exercising regularly. Patient engagement is one strategy to achieve the ‘triple aim’ of improved health outcomes, better patient care, and lower costs.”

This op-ed first appeared in US News & World Report