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In the post-mortems of failed online healthcare ventures, it was not the technology that failed. Many e-health initiatives and ventures died because the solutions they offered didn’t deliver a sustainable value proposition to customers. Here we describe a healthcare new product and delivery concept,Information Therapy, that was conceived and built with customer value as the driving force.
The Product
Information Therapy uses how-to details and compelling examples to show how information prescriptions can be as important to a patient's health as any test, surgery, or medicine. Unlike free-floating health content on the Internet, information prescriptions—called information therapy—are delivered electronically to people right before or after a doctor visit, test, or surgery; when they receive medicine; or at any other specific "moment of care."This timely, personalized, patient-specific information enables patients make better health decisions and greatly enhances information value.
Information therapy is generating a groundswell of support among health care innovators as a way to achieve measurable improvements in medical outcomes, patient safety, the overall cost-effectiveness of care, and patient satisfaction. New clinical and business applications built on Information Therapy, or Ix(TM), concepts are already providing significant advantages that physicians, hospitals, clinics, and health plans need in order to thrive. Just like a medication prescription, an information prescription becomes a part of their care.
Prescription-Strength Information
Information therapy changes the role of health care information from being “about the care” to being an “essential part of care.” To meet patient and consumer needs for involvement, clinicians need to prescribe information as part of every medical encounter. Those information prescriptions become as important to a patient’s health as any drug, medical test, or surgery.
Information Therapy as a Safety Net
Patients who are at high risk for medical errors often feel vulnerable and powerless to protect themselves. In spite of the best efforts of their doctors, nurses, and hospitals, thousands of Americans are harmed by medical mistakes each year. Information prescriptions received at the hospital bedside can help a patient or caregiver monitor medications, anticipate procedures, and prepare for the next step in the care process. With the right information prescriptions, the patient and caregivers can provide an additional level of protection against medical errors.
Opportunities for a Rebirth of E-Health
Information therapy is powerful enough to breathe new life into scores of e-health business plans that have foundered. First-generation “content” business plans were based on the flawed idea that information had value in and of itself. Early content sites were akin to giving the patient a key to the pharmacy but not helping him or her to know when to go, what to look for, where to look, or what dose of medicine to take. The result were unpredictable and, far too often, of little value. Information therapy adds value by connecting the right information to the decision making that influences medical outcomes and medical costs.
Opportunities for a Rebirth of the Health Plan-to-Member Relationship
Most health plans have a massive imbalance in the ratio of negative to positive messages that they send to members. Rate hike and claims denial messages far outweigh the occasional health newsletter. Building a positive relationship on such a negative communication stream is nearly impossible. But information therapy can change the ratio dramatically. When every health care encounter results in the delivery of a helpful information service of value to the patient in making key decisions he or she is faced with at that moment, the balance can change dramatically. With that comes a richer value proposition from health plan to member—and a more positive overall relationship.
Drivers of Change
The healthcare marketplace is ready for the advance to Information Therapy. Here are the four main drivers of change:
- the new consumer (demanding information, control, and service)
- the new science (of evidence-based medicine)
- the new technology (the Internet connecting anyone, anywhere to top-quality information 24x7)
- the new focus on quality (the reduction of medical mistakes and comparative performance measurement)
Predictions for an information therapy future
- Every clinic visit, lab test, prescription drug, or treatment will result in a targeted information prescription to the patient.
- Every hospital admission and every change in hospital-based physician orders will result in a targeted information prescription for the patient.
- Information prescriptions will be built into the reimbursement formulas for clinic and hospital visits.
The authors are Don Kemper and Molly Mettler, founders of Healthwise, Inc. and co-authors of a new book,Information Therapy: Prescribed Information as a Reimbursable Medical Service. Learn more about Healthwise at Healthwise.org. |
