How Has Patient Engagement Changed? Changing Landscape for Healthcare Data and Trends

1. Redefining Patient Engagement with Telemedicine

There are several studies that have revealed the extent of improvement in patient care through the use of Telehealth. A March 2017 report from the University of California Davis found that telehealth access produced about $100 in travel time cost savings per patient per year. In total, Telehealth reduced travel distances by 5 million miles across the entire study population and resulted in $3 million saved in travel costs over a nine-year period.

There are several benefits to the implementation of Telemedicine. Listed below are a few:

In the case of follow-up visits, Telemedicine has emerged as a sure shot winner with patients opting for this form of caregiving on a larger level. The satisfaction levels are considered at par, or sometimes even higher, through this method of healthcare. As part of a study, of a large hospital, it was realized that the quality of care communication was considered to be better than the traditional method of an in-person visit through virtual video visits with the physician. Additionally, the convenience of appointment times through telehealth apps is almost 80% higher than regular follow-ups. More than 50% of the participants rated the connection and satisfaction levels to be greater through Telemedicine. 

As Telemedicine establishes itself strongly as the preferred choice for basic healthcare, it is moreover increasing its reign across specialist areas in terms of higher quality and patient satisfaction, including psychiatry, neurology, cardiology, and oncology. Finally, the rate of satisfaction with Telemedicine is observed across all age groups, not only millennials who we would assume are more well-versed with technology. Patients from remote areas are experiencing a sure shot benefit through this method. 

2. Transforming Practice Management to Increase Patient Engagement

As healthcare organizations adopt intelligent technologies to create applications for patient engagement, the lifecycle of practice management is transforming toward added convenience and increased accessibility. Healthcare providers have been facing a constant challenge of consistent patient engagement and communication. To address this challenge, automated appointment scheduling, and reminders through interactive, multi-modal, and flexible communication strategies can be adopted. These communication workflows seamlessly integrate into the clinical systems, improving time efficiency, and reducing overall hassles. 

As part of the practice management process, patient engagement and convenience can be further increased through the provision of online bill payment through the incorporation of wallets and co-pay systems. These automated processes will considerably reduce overall costs and paperwork. It can further work towards reducing errors and reclaims.

3. Promoting Patient Engagement Through Advanced Data Analytics

Engaging a patient is a crucial element in healthcare delivery quality. Empowering patients with a hand in controlling their health is a powerful step toward maintaining and increasing this quality. Through wearable devices and patient portals, big data is now accessible to the patient and physician alike. Advanced analytics can be applied to the meaningful interpretation and sharing of this data to draw useful conclusions.

Patients with chronic diseases have a need to manage their health and sustain their treatment on an ongoing basis. Empowering these patients, through big data analytics, helps them to track their health and become active participants in their own care. Furthermore, customized treatment plans can be created to adhere to the specific requirements of individual patients, predictive analysis measure risk scores as well. 

Advanced analytics can help build models that catch loopholes in overall workflows to increase the overall efficiency of the organization, along with prioritizing urgent care patients. Mental health patients are eligible to receive tremendous benefits through data analytics as they help the organization to strategize and extract actionable insights from unstructured data. 

4. Simplifying Patient Engagement Through Patient Portals

The advantages of a high functioning patient portal uniquely lend themselves to offering high-quality patient engagement. There are also significant advantages to the organization itself with features that offer proactive means of engagement through systematic processes. Some advantages are listed below:

Furthermore, critical to the success of the portal is its comprehensive understanding by the healthcare staff and patients alike. Implementing a high-level patient portal aids in effective and automated clinical summaries, customized educational resource sharing, secure communication tools, increased accessibility to health information, and periodic reminders. Finally, the most important aspect of patient engagement is the patient’s involvement in the management of their own health, which can be significantly aided through a functional patient portal.