Patient engagement is high on the list of important trends that healthcare CIOs and other healthcare IT leaders in provider organizations are working on.
Intelichart, in booth 3920 at HIMSS24, is a provider of patient engagement technology for provider organizations. It showcased its Healthy Outcomes platform, which offers technologies tailored to each stage of the patient journey designed to simplify patient engagement, improve health outcomes and increase profitability.
We interviewed Gary Hamilton, CEO of InteliChart, to discuss key trends in patient engagement, how these trends are translating into technology, and the advice he offers HIMSS24 attendees in the exhibit hall.
Q. What are the key trends in patient engagement that you are discussing with attendees on the exhibit floor?
A. For decades, patients have been largely passive partners in their own health care. Those days are over. Patients, empowered by technology and a new sense of autonomy, shop for providers the way they do for other services and demand that clinicians accommodate their expectations for scheduling, services and technology.
Providers—no matter what they think about consumerism in healthcare—must adapt if they want to thrive in this new environment.
As a result, healthcare is moving toward value-based care with an emphasis on population health, patient satisfaction, and new payment models. Patient engagement is a critical tool in helping providers achieve their VBC goals.
By meeting patients’ demands for technology, providers create a path to improve health outcomes, increase patient satisfaction and find money-saving workflow efficiencies. By focusing on innovative approaches to expanding the clinical setting, engaging patients wherever they are, and exploring staffing models that empower clinicians to work at the top of their licenses, leaders can successfully transition to VBC.
Finally, long-term and post-acute care, often overlooked in health care discussions, face increasing challenges, such as increasing demand for services and staff shortages. The industry urgently needs solutions to ease staff workloads, including platforms that facilitate communication with residents’ families.
Such tools offer organizations the chance to streamline interactions, develop efficient workflows, and effectively monitor quality. Technology adoption not only improves working conditions, but also fosters cooperative relationships between organizations and families, fostering trust and strengthening the facility’s reputation.
Q. How will these trends translate into technological innovation?
A. Patient engagement revolves around future healthcare innovations that can provide a seamless experience across care touchpoints. Methods to increase patient engagement are evolving rapidly, which will shift the focus of strategies to self-control, self-care, and self-monitoring. Healthcare organizations are accordingly expanding their digital connections to improve the care experience.
Healthcare leaders and organizations can rely on technological innovation to help successfully navigate these trends. Providers should turn to solutions that offer comprehensive tools designed to simplify and optimize patient engagement processes.
By embracing these trends and leveraging innovative technologies, they can enhance patient experiences, improve outcomes and remain competitive in an evolving consumer-driven healthcare environment.
Q. What is the most important advice you have for HIMSS24 attendees about patient engagement in 2024?
A. With all the uncertainty surrounding health care—consolidations, regulations, budget crises, workforce shortages—there’s a tendency to overlook the central figure in it all—the patient. This would be a mistake, as patients now have significant influence over the nature and delivery of care, as well as those who provide it.
Patients, especially younger ones, are changing their relationships with their providers and healthcare as a whole. Providers who fail to adapt to these evolving dynamics risk both attracting and retaining patients in the long term.
Patient autonomy may be troubling for some providers, but they should view it not as a threat but as an opportunity. Adopting it enables providers to improve engagement, leading to improved results, increased efficiency and streamlined workflows.
While navigating interactions with more empowered patients can be challenging, providers should not shy away from change. Engaged patients tend to show better adherence to medical advice, visit appointments and medication adherence, and are more likely to ask questions.
Importantly, this change does not mean the end of the patient-provider relationship. While traditional notions of loyalty have changed, patients will continue to seek out and trust providers who deliver superior care.
However, the concept of optimal care now encompasses more than patient-provider relationships and medical decision-making; it extends to providing access to advanced patient engagement tools that empower patients to actively participate in their healthcare journey.
Follow Bill’s HIT coverage on LinkedIn: Bill Siwicki
Email him: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
