The healthcare industry is exploding with new technologies that make providers more efficient and improve patient experiences. As the leading source of healthcare IT news, insight, and analysis, Healthcare IT Today covers all of these developments. John Lynn is the online publication’s founder and chief editor. He’s also the chief marketing officer of CareCognitics. Recently, he joined Will O’Connor, M.D., on an episode of The Connected Care Team podcast. John discussed the shift that needs to take place for value-based care to build strong patient relationships and AI’s potential to make healthcare more intuitive and effective.
In this episode of The Connected Care Team podcast, John discusses the shift that needs to take place for value-based care to succeed in healthcare and for clinicians to build strong patient relationships. Plus, John speaks to AI’s potential to make healthcare more intuitive and effective.
What major developments lie ahead for healthcare? From John’s perspective, he sees voice as playing a significant role in the future of value-based care. Here’s a common patient complaint: doctors spend most of the appointment time with their heads buried in a chart documenting the visit. This creates a barrier between the doctor and the patient, resulting in a poor patient experience. If the doctor dictated information via voice using an AI application, the relevant data could be abstracted and shared with the patient. This new way of documenting care would free the doctor to be more engaged with a patient.
Implementing value-based care to reach reluctant patients
One of the healthcare industry’s inherent challenges is providing a service that individuals typically avoid unless they need it. John identifies two types of patients: chronic patients and those who seek healthcare only when they have a problem. The latter group of patients is far more difficult to communicate with than patients proactively managing chronic conditions.
In John’s view, the key to offering more effective value-based care to reluctant or unhealthy patients is to provide the right motivation. He references his experience with CareCognitics. The company’s founder, Sunny Tara, created the original rewards program on the strip in Las Vegas. Unable to change the odds of guests gambling and losing money, he discovered he could offer a fun, positive experience that would send people home happy regardless of their luck in the casinos. John sees an opportunity to take the principles learned from the casino industry and apply them to healthcare.
Subjecting patients to long wait times to get a doctor’s appointment and having them spend extended periods in waiting rooms hurts patient engagement. John believes healthcare organizations can change their relationships with patients by showing they care in small ways. An example would be letting a patient waiting for a doctor know they have time to grab a coffee. By improving communication with patients, trust and relationships are formed, improving the perceived quality of service to patients. Once patients begin to feel trust in providers, a powerful value-based care model can be achieved.
“When you realize the DMV has a better digital engagement with people than many in healthcare, you know that’s kind of a problem.”
John Lynn, Founder and Chief Editor of Healthcare IT Today
The future of AI In improving healthcare processes
At the end of the podcast, John discusses the challenge providers now face in handling an endless stream of messages. He talks about the potential of AI to prioritize these messages so that relevant data reaches the right provider for the right patient to offer timely and optimal care.
John also sees AI playing an important role in automating mundane and repeatable tasks. Alleviating the hassle of repetitive tasks will make the jobs of many in healthcare less burdensome.
To learn more about building stronger relationships with patients by offering accessible and consistent patient communication, listen to The Connected Care Team podcast episode with John Lynn.
