P R O J E C T R E P O R T
OVERCOM I NG THE PAT I ENT ENGAGEMENT BARR I ER - I MP L EMENT I NG I NNOVAT I VE APPROACHE S TO PAT I ENT - REPORTED OUTCOME S COL L EC T I ON
KORAY ALTAG THE CLINICIAN
approaches to boost engagement, including: • Embedding the clinic logo and name of each patient’s physician in the SMS sent to them • Including a profile photo of the patient’s physician in the ZEDOC patient app landing page It was supposed that corresponding with patients on behalf of the clinic would improve engagement. Consistent response rates of above 80 percent observed while using these techniques demonstrated a positive outcome. Another approach implemented for improving engagement was the use of behavioural analytics data to understand the activity of patient cohorts with different characteristics (age and gender). Some of the key learnings uncovered were: • Significantly higher response rates when SMSs were sent in the morning • Typically women had higher response rates than men • Individuals under the age of 40 were much more likely to respond immediately than over 40 Powered by this data, we were able to refine the digital care journey in ZEDOC for specific patient groups and schedule communication so that health assessments were delivered at the right time. There were three key learnings
that are relevant to New Zealand healthcare organisations interested in capturing PRO data and have shaped the way we approach digital PRO collection today. Firstly, there are numerous small but significant steps that can be taken to create a more meaningful connection between patients in the community and their care teams. Second, the collection and analysis of behavioural data is critical for engaging patient groups with different characteristics. Finally, it is important to take an agile approach to patient engagement so that any friction points can be quickly addressed. However, meaningful patient engagement is a continuous improvement process and within New Zealand specifically, further research is needed to investigate effective engagement strategies for our population and those with long- term conditions.
Compelling evidence supporting the collection and analysis of patient- reported outcomes (PROs) in routine care highlight their role in promoting shared decision-making, assessing the impact of treatment, and producing better health outcomes. However, despite the value of PROs and the increasing number of technologies that support their collection outside traditional care settings, patient engagement and response rates remain a considerable barrier to successful implementation. Having implemented our digital health outcomes platform, ZEDOC, across Asia-Pacific to capture PRO data, we ran a pilot project in Singapore testing a number of innovative techniques for effective patient engagement. The pilot was run at the National University Hospital (NUH) in Singapore, introducing the RAPID3 PRO measure to support daily rheumatology care. Patients were sent an SMS the day before their outpatient visit with a link directing them to answer symptom and quality of life questions on the ZEDOC patient app. Feeding this information back to the clinic, care teams used the data to quickly hone in on the most pertinent problems during the short consultation. To improve on the industry’s typically low response rates for capturing PROs remotely (15-20 percent), we implemented a number of hinz.org.nz/page/JOIN
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WANT TO KNOW MORE ? Koray Al t ag | koray@thecl ini c ian. com
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