Chilmark Research Provides Roadmap for Healthcare Organizations to go "Beyond the Patient Portal" For Better Engagement

BOSTON, Sept. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumerism and the move to value-based care (VBC) will require healthcare organizations (HCOs) to shift their engagement strategies from episodic care to a new model of coordinated, continuous care including near real-time, mobile-first engagement.

Today, there is no all-in-one solution that provides the functionality required for the next generation of consumer engagement in healthcare. Chilmark Research's latest report, Beyond the Patient Portal: Technology for Improved Consumer Engagement, identifies the critical attributes and technologies necessary to support this new form of engagement. The report clearly articulates how HCOs and other key stakeholders in the healthcare industry must work together to bring those features into a single platform that benefits all consumers regardless of age, health status, technological proficiency, or socioeconomic status.

Features such as bidirectional messaging with members of an extended care team, multimedia educational resources, interactive health coaching, and integration with community and other non-clinical resources remain in silos today, creating complexity for the consumer. Overcoming this will require a broader, more open framework and technology architecture than what patient portals today can provide.

"Healthcare consumers are increasingly asked to take greater responsibility for their health. All too often, this means greater financial responsibility – in the form of higher copays, deductibles, premiums, and out-of-pocket costs – but not greater personal responsibility," said Brian Eastwood, Chilmark Research analyst and author of this report. "If the industry expects consumers to pay more, then consumers should expect to get more – apps, devices, services, or other solutions to help them make more informed health decisions, reduce their utilization of healthcare services, and lead happier, healthier and more productive lives."

The report uses the term consumer instead of patient in order to recognize that, even for the sickest individuals, the majority of their lives are spent outside the four walls of an HCO – at work, at home, and in the community, where they live their lives. Focusing on just the "patient" is misguided – the more expansive term "consumer" is needed to fully optimize engagement.

The report provides several important frameworks for HCOs and vendors, including:

• A Next-Generation Engagement Model that spans modalities of care for all types of consumers, regardless of age, socioeconomic status, level of health, type of insurance, or familiarity with technology. 
• An Engagement Solution Maturity Model that describes how next-generation solutions will evolve through 2018, 2020, and beyond.
• An Investment Model for Engagement Solutions that identifies how HCOs that are leading the way, following, and waiting for guidance will approach their engagement strategies in the next three to five years.

In addition, the report introduces the concept of the collaborative health record (CHR), which enables a free flow of healthcare data at the direction and consent of the consumer. This record brings together all data pertinent to a consumer's health and well-being profile: clinical, claims, employer, device, social, behavioral, community, family history, consumer-generated, and more. The CHR is the natural evolution from the static electronic health record to a dynamic collaborative record to support full 360-degree engagement processes.

The report draws on interviews with more than 20 healthcare IT vendors in a variety of domains, including electronic health records (EHRs), patient relationship management (PRM), telehealth, chronic disease management, employee benefit management, and patient education.

Anyone interested in the role that improved consumer engagement can plan in helping the healthcare industry achieve the goals of VBC, coordinated care, and condition management will gain strategic insight from reading Beyond the Patient Portal. HCOs, payers, healthcare IT vendors, consultants, investors, patient advocates, and others will all benefit from this in-depth report. Chilmark Research will also be hosting a free webinar (register here) with the author of the report Oct. 4 at 1pm (ET) for those interested in hearing some of the highlights of Brian's research and asking any questions on this subject.

The report is available to subscribers of the Chilmark Advisory Service or may be purchased separately. For more information, visit www.chilmarkresearch.com/reports. Direct inquiries for purchase should be addressed to Sean Campbell at [email protected].

About Chilmark Research:

Chilmark Research is the only industry analyst firm focusing solely on the most transformational trends in healthcare IT. We combine proven research methodologies with intelligence and insight to provide cogent analyses of the emerging technologies that have the greatest potential to improve healthcare. We do not shy away from making tough calls, and are respected in the industry for our direct and thoughtful commentary. For more information visit: www.chilmarkresearch.com/.

Media Contact:
Brian Eastwood
[email protected]

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SOURCE Chilmark Research

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