What We’re Reading: Industry Leaders Talk Communication
APCO recently released a whitepaper with panel commentary on “Digital Health: Value Recognition” featuring Oxeon’s very own Managing Partner Trevor Price along with a suite of other industry leaders. Among the topics of conversation were telehealth, consumer engagement, and wearables. The panel unanimously affirmed the importance of better communication in healthcare.
One of the major themes of the discussion centered around the alleged tendency of providers to not consider their patients as consumers with the idea being that health systems are missing opportunities to better connect with their target population and make the care coordination process more inclusive. Further, consumer engagement is critical to the profitability of any business. Behavioral health companies are slowly giving people the tools to take charge of their health. Gamification makes exercising and setting personal goals more fun. Meal tracking apps help visualize consumer’s behavior. Fitness wearables can aide in clear goal creation. Similarly, consumers are starting to demand ownership of, and access to, their health information and history. The average person is seeking greater autonomy with regard to their health, and can have their decisions better informed by the wealth of information providers and physicians can share. As Trevor puts it, “PR will serve its greatest purpose by getting the average consumers to understand how to engage in healthcare.”