Intelichart CEO details patient engagement trends for HIMSS24 participants
Patient engagement is high on the list of key trends that healthcare CIOs and other healthcare IT leaders at healthcare organizations are working on.
Intelichart, in booth 3920 at HIMSS24, is a provider of patient engagement technologies for healthcare organizations. It is showcasing 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 the top trends in patient engagement, how these trends translate into technologies, and advice he’s offering HIMSS24 attendees in the exhibit hall.
Q. What are the top patient engagement trends you discuss with attendees on the show floor?
A. For decades, patients have been largely passive partners in their own health care. Those days are over. Patients, empowered by technology and given a new sense of autonomy, are seeking out providers the same way they do for other services and demanding that physicians meet their expectations for scheduling, service and technology.
Providers—despite what they think about healthcare consumerism—must adapt if they want to thrive in this new environment.
Relatedly, healthcare is transitioning to value-based care, with an emphasis on population health, patient satisfaction and new payment models. Patient engagement is a critical tool to help healthcare providers achieve their VBC goals.
By meeting patient demand for technology, healthcare providers are creating a way to improve health outcomes, increase patient satisfaction and find money-saving workflow efficiencies. By focusing on innovative approaches to expand the clinical setting, engaging patients wherever they are, and exploring staffing models that enable physicians to work at the top of their licenses, leaders can successfully transition to VBC.
Finally, long-term care and post-acute care, which are often neglected in healthcare discussions, are facing increasing challenges, such as increasing demand for services and workforce shortages. The industry urgently needs solutions to ease staffing burdens, including platforms that facilitate communication with residents’ families.
Such tools offer organizations the opportunity to streamline interactions, develop efficient workflows and effectively monitor quality. Embracing technology not only improves working conditions, but also fosters a collaborative relationship between organizations and families, promoting trust and strengthening an institution’s reputation.
Q. How will these trends translate into technological innovations?
A. Patient engagement is all about future healthcare innovations that can deliver frictionless experiences across various care touchpoints. Methods to increase patient engagement are evolving rapidly, which will shift the focus of strategies to self-management, self-care and self-monitoring. Healthcare organizations are expanding their digital connections accordingly to improve the healthcare experience.
Healthcare leaders and organizations can rely on technology innovations to 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 the patient experience, improve outcomes and remain competitive in an evolving, consumer-driven healthcare landscape.
Q. What is the most important advice you give to HIMSS24 participants about patient engagement in 2024?
A. With all the uncertainty surrounding healthcare – consolidations, regulations, budget crises, staffing shortages – there is a tendency to overlook the central figure in it all – the patient. That would be a mistake, because patients now have significant influence on the nature and delivery of care, and on those who provide it.
Patients, especially young people, are reshaping their interactions with their healthcare providers and the healthcare system in general. 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 healthcare providers, but they should not see it as a threat, but as an opportunity. By embracing this, providers can increase engagement, leading to better outcomes, greater efficiency and streamlined workflows.
Although navigating interactions with more empowered patients can present challenges, healthcare providers should not shy away from change. Engaged patients tend to show better compliance with medical advice, attendance at appointments and adherence to medications, and are more likely to ask questions.
Importantly, this shift does not mean the end of patient-provider relationships. Although traditional views of loyalty have changed, patients will continue to seek out and trust healthcare providers who deliver superior care.
However, the concept of optimal care now encompasses more than just patient-provider relationships and medical decision-making; it extends to providing access to modern patient engagement tools that enable patients to actively participate in their healthcare journey.
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