Patient engagement is more than just a buzzword—it’s a must in healthcare today. As patients become savvier consumers with greater expectations, payers and PBMs must find new ways to reimagine engagement and actively involve patients in their own care.
Why? It’s simple: When patients are engaged, they are more likely to adhere to care plans, make healthier choices, and ultimately achieve more positive health outcomes. For payers looking to minimize the ever-increasing cost of care and improve outcomes, honing in on engagement as a top priority is a no-brainer—but what can health plans do to engage and empower their patients?
In this article, learn why patient engagement should be a key area of focus and how you can increase it with the right technology.
The Relationship Between Patient Engagement and Adherence
To understand the correlation between patient engagement and medication adherence, we have to start with understanding the reasons why non-adherence occurs. Why do some patients fail to take their medications as prescribed?
Although several factors can influence adherence, many of them come back to how engaged a patient is overall. Engaged patients are more likely to understand the condition(s) they’re being treated for, why they’re prescribed certain medications, and how to properly comply with prescriber instructions. As a result, these individuals tend to be more proactive in managing their overall health and condition.
On the other hand, disengaged patients may lack adequate understanding of their medical condition(s), be absent-minded about their medications, be hesitant to initiate therapies, or all of the above. When patients are disconnected from their care, they are more prone to experiencing the consequences of non-adherence, such as worsening health conditions, increased urgent care or emergency department visits, prolonged hospitalizations, and even mortality.
Increasing Patient Engagement and Medication Adherence with AI
Engaging patients with interventions designed to initiate positive behavior changes are the key to improving adherence—but not all interventions are equally effective. Today’s savvy consumers value convenience and personalization. They look for their care providers to offer seamless experiences, whether in the office for a visit, at the pharmacy to fill a prescription, or the times between.
To boost engagement and improve adherence, an increasing number of payers and PBMs are using artificial intelligence (AI) to deploy effective, patient-centric interventions. Better yet, advanced AI gets smarter with time, learning from new data and allowing payers and PBMs to optimize patient engagement programs for better health outcomes and improved quality performance.
How does AI technology optimize patient interventions? AI has the power to determine:
- The right patients to reach out to for interventions: Which patients have the highest risk of non-adherence and likelihood of being influenced by an intervention?
- The ideal intervention channel for each individual: In an omnichannel patient support program, which channel method is best suited for each person?
- The optimal messaging content, timing, and cadence: What’s the best messaging content, timing, and frequency to influence a behavioral change?
If it sounds too good to be true, consider a real-life example. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina—a large, regional payer—achieved 5.5 times greater medication adherence and a 23 percent reduction on intervention spend using AllazoHealth’s AI Engine. Yes, you read that correctly—these personalized, cost-effective interventions increased adherence and improved patient outcomes and quality performance. That’s the power of smart data.
If your organization is looking to optimize patient interventions for each individual, AllazoHealth can help. Get in touch for a firsthand look at our AI Engine and how it benefits payers, PBMs, and patients.
