Patient Engagement Matters Now More Than Ever

Did you know that 76% of Fortune 50 companies are in the health industry or have a health division? PwC is even calling health the “new gold rush”. According to Rock Health, digital health funding (mHealth and online services) has surpassed $3B in the first three quarters of 2014 – up 100% from last year.

Even companies that traditionally have nothing to do with healthcare, like Apple and Facebook, are making promises to take a more active role in helping people understand and improve their health.

One of the big things driving this intense growth is patient engagement. Yes, there’s a lot of money to be made and that certainly motivates corporations, but a company that wants to stick around needs to offer real value to its customers, and what’s more important than improving our own health?

Here are five reasons why patient engagement matters now more than ever:

1. Better Health Outcomes

Common sense will lead you to agree that people who are proactive about their health and take care of themselves tend to be the healthiest people overall. So by focusing on ways to improve patient engagement, studies show that overall health improves.

Engaged patients also usually take their medications as directed and are therefore less likely to need to be readmitted to a hospital or emergency room. This certainly has a direct impact on overall healthcare costs. The Network for Excellence in Health Innovation found that non-adherence to medication creates nearly $290 billion dollars per year in avoidable spending. That’s approximately 13% of total healthcare spending in the United States and it’s completely avoidable with proper patient engagement.

2. Healthcare Reform

The Affordable Care Act is having a tremendous impact on healthcare, as many incentives for providers and payors are being refocused towards improved clinical outcomes, patient engagement and satisfaction scores. Financial incentives that support patient engagement are creating a new wave of mHealth apps and other digital technology to help providers meet these new goals.

3. Social Outreach

Another key component of patient engagement goes beyond the relationship one has with his or her healthcare providers. What about social and community support – both in real life and online – where people can find others to share their experience with?

Studies show that people who have social support and can share their experiences will have better health overall. They’re more likely to be engaged because they have a community to share with and lean on in tough times. There are many public and private groups to join on Facebook, LinkedIn or even weekly Twitter chats. If your company has the ability to offer social services to people, use these channels – or even weekly email digests – to help connect with your potential audiences.

4. Mobile Technology

Since over 1.75 billion people carry smartphones with them every day, it makes sense to create apps that will help their users take better care of themselves. Many new mHealth apps, or new devices like the Apple Watch, are designed to keep people informed about their health constantly so they can make better overall health decisions.

A recent report recommends that each healthcare organization’s IT strategy include patient engagement policies, so that providers can offer tools that fall under meaningful use. For example, the strategy could include something like “automate patient reminders for preventive and follow-up care, chronic care reminders, patient visit questionnaires, and appointment reminders.”

5. Total Population Health

While mHealth applications, medical devices and other data collection methods help patients stay engaged with their health, the sheer amount of data they collect also has a big impact on the administrative side of the healthcare industry.

Big data can show us valuable information about total population health and help Accountable Care Organizations and insurance companies better forecast and plan for the future. For example, predictive modeling can help determine if a patient might develop a chronic illness based on data they’ve collected compared to other people who’ve ended up developing that illness. If providers can intervene early on, it’s likely they can reduce the amount of care needed (especially costly ER care) and improve the patient’s health over time – especially before health issues become more serious.

As the healthcare industry continues to make advancements, patient engagement becomes increasingly attainable. Is your healthcare organization taking advantage of new technology to improve the overall health of your patients? The industry is going digital – there’s no doubt about it. From mobile technology to social outreach, increasing engagement with your patients is becoming more possible each day. Are you looking for a way to dive into the digital realm and further engage your patients? At Pyxl, we work with a variety of clients in the healthcare industry and would love to learn more about your needs – please reach out to us with any questions you might have and learn about new ways to reach your patients in our Inbound Marketing for Healthcare white paper.

Updated: Apr 13, 2022