The healthcare system might not be too keen to hang this report card on the fridge: 26% of Americans rated their healthcare experience as a D (18%) or an F (8%), while 34% gave it a solid C and only 10% gave it an A, that’s according the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) and The Harris Poll’s survey of 2,519 adults age 18+ conducted between February 23 and March 9, 2023.1
For 65% of respondents, one of the biggest issues was that coordinating and managing healthcare is overwhelming and time-consuming. A similar number of respondents (64%) expressed disappointment with their interaction with physicians, wishing that healthcare providers took more time to understand them. Those problems may become even more exasperated by looming physician shortages, as a forecast from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts a shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians by 2034.2 But is it possible that artificial intelligence (AI) can save the day?
“The New England Journal of Medicine runs a weekly diagnostic challenge tasking physicians with correctly identifying a thorny case. A recent study in JAMA found that ChatGPT-4 did a better job of identifying potential diagnoses in the NEJM challenge than most doctors,” explains David Stemler, Chief Creative Officer, CultHealth, An Indegene Company. “That’s bigger than when IBM’s Deep Blue beat Kasparov in chess in 1997, and it suggests the medical community stands to benefit immeasurably from generative AI. Physicians will be more accurate, efficient, and proactive than ever.”
However, Keri McDonough, Head, Patient Voice Consortium & Vice President, Medical and Scientific Strategy, Syneos Health, says that AI will only help so much in alleviating the “burnout”3 or “moral injury”4 many HCPs face.
“For new treatments to realize their value, our industry needs to do more to support HCPs,” McDonough says. “To start, our industry can help by supporting nurse benefits and peer navigator programs that can relieve some of the burden, while working with advocacy groups and elected officials on systemic changes.”
AI and the Future Patient Experience
Even though marketers should not forget about the people behind medical care, they still can’t ignore the potential of AI to transform the patient experience.
“Generative AI, particularly in telehealth, offers immense opportunities to revolutionize healthcare interactions,” says Sulabh Agarwal, Chief Technology Officer, KeyCare. “AI-powered virtual assistants can deliver personalized and efficient patient care, leading to improved diagnoses, treatment recommendations, and overall guidance. Patients will enjoy immediate, affordable, and convenient care, addressing a challenge faced in traditional healthcare settings.”
Taking things a step further, using AI to analyze data from sources such as electronic health records (EHRs), wearables, and self-reported patient data could lead to a more preventive and less reactive approach to patient care.
“AI/machine learning (ML) enhances patient profiles by sifting through vast amounts of data, revealing hidden patterns, and generating predictive models,” says Kristina Jones, Principal, Technology & Analytics Patient Support Services, IQVIA. “Predictive models can identify patterns and risk factors associated with certain conditions or disease progression. By detecting potential health issues early on, healthcare providers can intervene promptly, preventing complications and improving patient outcomes.”
Of course, AI can also be used to help marketers better understand and serve patients.
“HCP-patient conversation research is a treasure trove of invaluable information as it captures authentic patient experiences, emotions, and preferences. However, manually sifting through large amounts of qualitative data has been time-consuming and impractical,” explains Vincent Valant, Associate Product Manager, ZoomRx. “But AI/ML technologies, particularly natural language processing (NLP), have revolutionized data analysis and now companies can efficiently process and analyze vast amounts of real-world recordings and transcripts. This breakthrough enables them to gain a deeper comprehension of patient needs while saving time and effort.”
Looking Beyond AI
Marketers can also enhance the patient experience in other ways besides the use of AI. One example is the way they serve educational materials to patients.
“A key learning during the recent COVID-19 pandemic was patients and caregivers of all ages are open to learning about their health and wellness while engaging through personalized digital approaches to become more informed about their conditions or disease states,” explains Timmy Garde, Chief Growth Officer, Ardelis Health. “Essentially, focusing on the patient and family caregiver through a comprehensive omnichannel approach will help in the dialogue between the physician and patient. So, friendly user experiences are essential through all platforms and devices.”
That is especially true post-doctor visit, when more than half of Americans do not feel confident about the health information shared by their HCPs. In fact, many leave the doctor’s office not sure how to proceed because they didn’t understand or remember what their HCP said, according to Christianna Gorin, Chief Growth & Strategy Officer, Ogilvy Health.
“The successful hybrid of IRL and URL is essential to improving patient experiences—and optimizing EHRs is one way to achieve this more effective blend of online and offline care,” Gorin says. “Patients need access to their own medical information and records to fill in the gaps for better understanding and support follow-through and compliance with care recommendations. We must optimize online health portals which often are burdensome to set up, difficult to navigate, and create the feeling of unsecure data. We need more health brands advocating for patient access to personal medical information and facilitating this process.”
Marketers can also work to serve patients with more personalized and informative ads, simply by asking them.
“A pre-qualifying question can be integrated into the digital ad experience so that patients are empowered to determine if the ad is relevant to them,” says Lauren Ohlsson, Pharmaceutical Industry Solutions Lead, VDX.tv. “Patient data that is used for targeting is heavily modeled, which can sometimes result in individuals who are not patients being served the ad. Incorporating a pre-qualifying feature can help companies filter out individuals who do not have specific conditions and can create an open communication channel for those patients who do.”
But, even with increased access to technology, data, and AI, Sunny White, Founder & CEO, Xavier Creative House, emphasizes the need to engage with patients directly through surveys, interviews, patient communities, and focus groups to gather valuable information about the true patient experiences.
“As we embrace and leverage technology in healthcare, we must also be mindful of the potential for these advancements to exacerbate existing healthcare disparities,” White adds. “It’s crucial to use patient-centered approaches that prioritize safety, fairness, and accessibility to ensure that all patients benefit from these advancements, regardless of their socioeconomic status or background. By taking a holistic approach that incorporates both data analysis and direct engagement, we—as an industry—can put patients first.”
References:
1. https://www.aapa.org/research/patient-experience.
2. https://www.aamc.org/media/54681/download.
3. https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/health-worker-burnout/index.html.
4. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/magazine/doctors-moral-crises.html.
