Effective patient engagement is driven by two things: correlation and consistency. Both of these features stand on the shoulders of robust understandable data.
First of all, consistency. Enterprise-level alignment is key when deploying engagement strategies; it receives rewards for all participating patients and care teams. There is a new opportunity to get rid of casual outreach and turn to a scalable, replicable and reliable process at any moment in the patient’s journey.
But consistent experience does not have to be universal experience. It is important to go beyond the healthy journey that makes the patient feel like a passive participant. Instead, move towards a well-planned experience to guide patient care seamlessly, especially when they need to conquer obstacles to obtain treatment.
One of the great benefits of a comprehensive, personalized approach to patient engagement is the ability to ensure that each patient’s care needs are arranged wisely. Ideally, we can easily view and understand all aspects of our patients’ health and social needs, and we can create journeys that address their unique needs. Returning to the theoretical example of single mothers in our previous posts – maybe she was lucky enough to get a free afternoon in three months. If so, then health businesses can better make the most of their time with her, perhaps by establishing a date – schedule women’s exams and mammograms on the same day. This creates a more convenient, seamless experience for her and allows businesses to fill multiple care gaps immediately.
Likewise, data with patient data can prioritize attention in meaningful ways and reduce the risk that patient needs will not be answered. For example, if a patient requires annual health visits, colonoscopy and referral to endocrinology, effective patient participation will prioritize referrals to ensure that the care sequence is reasonable and that the patient can get the support needed as soon as possible.
Patient engagement makes everyone touch
Taking a more holistic approach to patient involvement does not only benefit the patient itself. It’s also a boon for the healthcare system and teams. Medical teams are often underwater, struggling to provide quality care without being able to take care of themselves. The needs of patients are connected in parallel with the needs of medical staff. In both cases, we can leverage data and tactical opportunities to reduce the load.
Data-driven engagement is the best way to help patients through the need. Only when we understand patients’ needs can we begin to address their SDOH barriers and track improvements in long-term quality of life. That being said, targeting certain high-demand groups will only take you too far. In fact, preventing individual patients from falling into cracks involves higher levels of data analysis, data-driven action and personalization.
Data collection and patient participation should go hand in hand. We understand that the better our patient population, the more we will be able to improve value-based care programs and help the population achieve their highest level of health.
From operational reality to fair future
Bringing true equity in a society and world that is undermined by inequality can feel like an overwhelming or even impossible task. However, each of us has an area that affects patient outcomes, and those of us involved in healthcare operations have the ability to significantly change the patient experience.
There are almost endless ways to start real health equity in our immediate community. We have seen how enterprise-level engagement strategies can optimize resource utilization across all care sites, freeing up team members to operate at the top of their licenses and ensuring patients provide some form of immediate support for their most pressing needs at least immediately. We also see that data-driven technology platforms do better in intelligently catering to patient preferences, increasing the chances of patients feeling comfortable and capable of access to care. We even see actions as simple as transparently conveying the purpose of data collection, which can help patients contextualize these initiatives and answer surveys honestly and without fear.
As we continue to collect patient data, we have a sufficient location to properly guide patients according to their unique SDOH needs. One benefit of this approach is that we don't have to doubt whether it's at home or not-our patients can tell us. We have seen patients actively thank the healthcare system for taking this opportunity to redirect it to relevant resources. Even if we can’t make large changes immediately, we can respond to SDOH requirements with scalable resources.
For healthcare leaders, actionable SDOH insights are key to improving equity and improving patient outcomes. By investing in comprehensive engagement strategies and leveraging technology, the healthcare industry can build trust, address care barriers, and ensure no patients fall into cracks. By conducting deeper analysis of patient data, collaborating across businesses, and journeys tailored to specific needs, we can enable sustainable, equitable solutions for a diverse patient population.
Photo: Ipuba, Getty Images
OT, MBA's Carrie Kozlowski is the co-founder and COO of Health Catalyst, a fast-growing, influential digital health care company. Up-term partners working with provider organizations will digitally interact with patients, transform their experiences, and complete the necessary steps of care through personalized, well-curated content based on the science of health communication. Carrie has combined real-world clinical experience with strategic thinking and business acumen for the past two decades, leading strategy, operations and talent development to improve population health and patient engagement outcomes to achieve forward-looking companies. Carrie's clinical background includes experience in providing direct care, training and management services as a practicing occupational therapist in Houston and Chicago. She holds a MBA from the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago, focusing on entrepreneurship and strategic change management, and received a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy from the University of Hartford.
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