Patient engagement as it relates to digital health? Why is patient engagement so important now?
Patient engagement with the medical staff may increase health outcomes, for many reasons.
Equally important in engaging patients is making sure the communication needs and desires of the patient are prioritized as requirements in developing digital health solutions.
This can be a source of needed data for preventive and population health efforts. These types of precise and reliable devices include smart medical devices and wearables that monitor, for example, cardiac function and blood sugar levels and give immediate early warnings of changes and problems for these patients.” (Balgrosky)
Even John Halamka, chief information officer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, is a strong advocate for health apps. He stated in a U.S. News & World Report, “Just as the iPad has become the chosen form factor for clinicians today, I can definitely see a day when computing devices are more integrated into the clothing or body of the clinician.”
Over the years the disconnect between the patient and doctor continues to grow, because of this innovators from everywhere create possible solutions to fix this divide. At this point in time, there are more health apps solutions than one can count. That is not true, Statista.com, counted: there are 53,979 IOS healthcare apps available as of 2021 and another 53,054 on google play as of 2021. Therefore, I can now comfortably say, there are more than 100,000 healthcare apps as of 2022 and many more to come.
Kudos to professor Macomber’s hometown university, they continue to bring the real healthful benefits. (play on words). The researchers from U-M polled 2,110 adults, aged 50 to 80 years, in August 2021.
As health monitoring technology becomes increasingly innovative, a new survey from the University of Michigan (U-M) finds that older adults who could enormously benefit from these services do not show much interest in using the necessary applications.
They noticed that individuals with poorly managed health conditions and lower incomes were less likely to use health apps. About 56 percent of 50 to 80 year olds have never attempted to use a health-related smartphone application, and only 28 percent are currently using at least one app, the survey shows.
Further, people who make more than $100,000 annually were 43 percent likely to use health apps. This figure towers over the proportion of people who make less than $30,000 and use health apps, which stands at 15 percent.
The basis of this post is in response to an article entitled: “Low Proportion of Older Adults Are Using Use Health Apps” The author of this article struggles to justify why older adults need to use health apps. I do not mean to be critical of the author, but the mental gymnastics I experienced, irritated me a bit.
Here is my summarized perspective of the article: Older people would benefit from using health tracking apps because they need them the most, but they are less likely to use them. Then, at the end of the article the author’s solution: those older adults with diabetes and using the continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) can possibly lead to them using more health apps.
Yikes, I thought, but great try.
True, more older adults get sick than do younger adults, but I’d be willing to bet that their reaching for a phone to manage health apps is the last thing on their minds. I could hear my 97 year old grandmother say, ‘I do not have the patience to figure out how to use those devices or apps.’ Don’t get me wrong, older adults can learn to use a smart phone. I have taught dozens of them, how to move around their devices like a teenager does. I also have a better solution, a tried and true technology from back in the day.
Founded in 1987, yes 1987, before smartphones hit the mainstream market. (The 1990s began the smartphone innovations.) If you are in suspense, do you remember the famous words from a certain commercial: “I’ve fallen and Can’t Get Up!?” (See video) The company is Life Alert,
“Saving a Life from a catastrophe Every 11 minutes!”
Life Alert ® handles over two million calls a year, and on average saves at least one life from a potential catastrophic* outcome every 11 minutes (44,876 in 2019). In Life Alert’s Monitoring Center, the size of its emergency staff per member is 200% greater than a traditional security company. Thanks to a greater sense of security, a 2004 ACNielsen study showed that 87% of Life Alert ® members stated that Life Alert’s protection is a main or important factor in their decision to keep on living alone at home. For safety, security and emergency protection, Life Alert ® is the choice for all ages.
Even though this device does not meet the engagement factor with patient and their doctor, it does match the statistical data for what is realistic, for the older generation. If all my grandmother has to do is press one button, that maybe better than a smart device.
For those of you who are thinking, ‘What about Siri and Alexa.’ These are possible options too, but we must consider the price comparisons as well.
References:
Balgrosky, J. A. (2020). Understanding Health Information Systems for the health professions. Jones & Bartlett Learning.About life alert ®. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2022, from http://www.lifealert.com/about.aspxLife call commercial "I've fallen and I can't ... - youtube. (n.d.). Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQlpDiXPZHQmHealthIntelligence. (2015, July 18). The history of Mobile Health: From cell phones to wearables. mHealthIntelligence. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/the-history-of-mobile-health-from-cell-phones-to-wearablesmHealthIntelligence. (2022, February 15). Low proportion of older adults are using use health apps. mHealthIntelligence. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/low-proportion-of-older-adults-are-using-use-health-appsPublished by L. Ceci, & 14, D. (2021, December 14). Healthcare apps available Apple App Store 2021. Statista. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/779910/health-apps-available-ios-worldwide/Published by L. Ceci, & 14, D. (2021, December 14). Healthcare apps available google play 2021. Statista. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/779919/health-apps-available-google-play-worldwide/