Inside CHIME: What Do You Really Know About Your Patients?

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Weinstock photo 1.21.16 by Matthew Weinstock
Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME

 

At next month’s CHIME-HIMSS CIO Forum, Aetna’s Gary Loveman is sure to challenge health IT leaders to become more proactive in building customer loyalty.

Healthcare organizations collect a lot of data on patients, yet they know surprisingly little about their consumer base. As the industry moves toward population health, greater patient engagement and other delivery system changes, there needs to be a fundamental shift in how organizations approach data to drive consumer loyalty, says Gary Loveman, executive vice president, consumer health & services, Aetna; and president of Healthagen.

“There are a lot of forces converging as we move toward consumerism is healthcare,” Loveman told me during a recent interview. “But we are still a long way away. Everything in healthcare is organized around the product. In my previous job, if someone came to visit us, we would know everything about them. We would organize around them.”

The former chairman, CEO and president of Caesars Entertainment Corp., Loveman certainly knows a thing or two about consumer engagement. Having developed Caesar’s Wellness Rewards program, and chairing the Business Roundtable’s health and wellness committee, he’s also well versed on many of the issues facing the nation’s healthcare industry.

Loveman is one of the keynote speakers at this year’s CHIME-HIMSS CIO Forum, Monday, February 29, in Las Vegas. During his speech, “Closing the Gap: Using Analytics and Behavioral Science to Improve Health Care Quality and Efficiency,” Loveman will detail how and why healthcare organizations need to switch their mindset to become more consumer-centric.

While acknowledging that healthcare is different than gaming or retail, Loveman notes that decisions are still made by individuals whose interests and experiences shape their choices.

“Stop a 25-year-old woman on the street and ask her to define her interests in her own healthcare,” he says. “She probably won’t talk about comorbidities or renal failure. It will be fitness and wellness, or a catastrophic incident. Health is different and as we age, ideas change. Consumer-oriented organizations meet the consumer where they are at that point in their life.”

Behavioral science factors into this. Organizations could make better use of incentives to change consumer behavior. For instance, offer patients who regularly keep and make their appointments the best time slots, or have an appointment Hall of Fame. Give them the ability to cancel an appointment an hour ahead of time without penalty.

At the same time, healthcare organizations need to better understand the multitude of factors going on in a patient’s life. For instance, think about the parent scheduling visits for an autistic child. Are there other kids at home? Can the parent take a variety of shifts off of work in order to bring the child to a series of poorly coordinated appointments?

Data analytics will also play a big part in this shift. However, he says the industry needs more open platforms between all stakeholders so that there is greater information sharing.

Loveman’s speech is sure to generate spirited conversations at the CHIME-HIMSS CIO Forum, as will the other stellar lineup of speakers. The CIO Forum is only open to CHIME members. If you haven’t done so already, register now.

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