Empowered Patient Podcast Survey Reveals Preferences for Virtual Healthcare and Digital Solutions in Addition to Human Interaction with John Erwin Carenet Health
John Erwin, CEO of Carenet Health, discusses their recent survey of patients and providers covered by commercial insurance companies or the government programs Medicare and Medicaid. While there is growing interest in using conversational texting and other digital tools, patients still want to talk with a human. The report reveals that Medicare/Medicaid members are more satisfied with their health plans than those covered by commercial plans, suggesting these plans can learn from government programs to improve the patient experience.
John explains, "Predominantly, we focus on two areas. One is around virtual care, so 24 hours a day, we have clinical and non-clinical teams that help support members and patients with anything and everything, from a prescription refill to "Help me talk to my doctor." So, virtual care 24 hours a day is one core business."
"Then the other one is reaching out to members and patients around activities that would make sense for them to do on their healthcare. For example, do you have a primary care physician? Do you go in and see them? Have you done all the right things your plan benefits allow you to receive? So, we are good at utilizing data to ensure that we're getting in front of the consumer so that they can get the care and support they deserve through their benefits."
"We were interested to find this out because we all are transitioning from all kinds of communication styles, be it in-person or by telephonic. The COVID opportunity changed a lot of how people are interacting. We help patients with all the different support mediums, whether text messages two-way with your doctor, speaking with a registered nurse, or talking to one of our engagement specialists. So, we're just hopeful that we get to talk to people in the right channel at the right time for them."
"What surprised us a little bit on the survey was that people still prefer to be spoken to, and they prefer the timeliness and relevance of that conversation. So, while they're happy to embrace other technologies, they still find a huge amount of comfort and support through the telephonic channel, which we do a lot of. We spoke to 20 million people last year just having a conversation about where they're heading on their health journey."
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