Inequities and lack of access to quality healthcare have been prevalent in the healthcare industry. Here’s how Population health management can bridge the gap and mitigate their impact.

Several new innovations and next-gen technologies have disrupted the healthcare ecosystem in the past few
years—including Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies like Chatbots and Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), wearables, predictive and prescriptive medicine, automated patient engagement solutions among many others.

While these are very promising technologies transforming the healthcare landscape, there is also another term looming over the horizon: Healthcare inequities.

The pandemic has shed light on some serious concerns of health disparities among the minority groups and lower-income populations—that are seriously impacted by these inequalities, costing lives as a result of lack of access to quality care.

A recent study be Kaiser Health News revealed that access to COVID-19 vaccination has been at a higher rate among the white Americans in comparison to the Black Americans. To bridge these gaps and mitigate the impact of healthcare inequalities among the population, healthcare leaders across the globe need to focus on inclusive population health management strategies that can elevate the overall health outcomes at scale.

Harnessing Data to Drive Actionable Insights

Identifying the Right Patients. Some of the healthcare systems combine large volumes of previously gathered data with current population health strategies to identify the right patients for their Covid-19 vaccination initiatives and other health programs—aimed at reaching the underserved populations.

For instance, leveraging a strategic combination of health insights and risk stratification tools can enable healthcare systems discover the right patient population with higher levels of health inequities for various health issues including the COVID-19 outbreak. These data can be gathered from various sources including Patient Generated Health Data (PGHD), Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO), IoT, wearable devices, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and others.

Critical factors like socioeconomic status, poverty, crowded housing, minority groups and other factors can be combined to derive data on patients highly susceptible to COVID-19.

Besides COVID-19, healthcare researchers are also leveraging the power of analytical insights to identify the reasons for certain diseases being more prevalent among certain communities. For instance, researchers at the University of Southern California conducted a detailed study on certain ethnic groups that are largely affected by Prostate cancer than their counterparts.

Surprisingly, the research found that genetics was amongst the key reasons for prostate cancer among black men—who were 75 percent more susceptible to the disease than the whites.

Data-driven Patient Engagement Solutions to Flatten the Curve

Combining critical data with the right patient engagement solutions can help improve the overall population health. Healthcare organizations can streamline these massive volumes of data to identify the appropriate strategies to reach out to the specific communities.

Hospitals and practices are increasingly adopting automated care coordination solutions to harness valuable data, gathered through multiple sources—like PGHD, PRO, IoT-powered devices, wearables, SDOH, surveys, and other reports.

These data are streamlined into structured workflows that help remotely track and monitor patient journeys from pre-admission to post-recovery and beyond. For instance, research reveals that many patients miss out on doctor’s appointments as a result of challenges in scheduling appointments amidst their busy work schedules. A sophisticated online scheduling wizard that allows patients to self-schedule appointments based on the Physician’s availability could go a long way in simplifying healthcare experiences for the patients, physicians and all the stakeholders involved in the care pathway management.

Final Thoughts

To achieve the desired population health goals, care providers need to partner with the right care coordination solutions provider, who has a strategic and a nuanced approach to population health management. SolvEdge is a leading provider of outcome-driven patient engagement platform that drives superior patient engagement and experiences. What’s more, our patient engagement solutions are trusted by 400+ Hospitals, 3500+ Physicians and millions of patients around the globe.

To get your free and personalized consultation on how our care coordination solutions can accelerate your digital transformation journeys, talk to our team.