Photo: Sergey Zolkin

Although the world of digital healthcare existed long before the current pandemic, it was really around 2020 when it truly started being used worldwide. Different technologies have been proved to be effective in both doctor-patient communication and overall, in managing the health of a patient. Various digital patient engagement tools are becoming more and more popular. Because a very large array of patient engagement technologies and tools are available and appeal to various consumer-level preferences, we are going to take a look at how these tools encourage patients to attend their controls.

Digital tools that can encourage patients to attend their controls

Remote monitoring devices

In health care, remote monitoring devices can relay data back to the electronic health record and, of course, the care team. Therefore, remote monitoring devices are capable of bridging the access between the patient and the doctor without the traditional office setting that needs to be done in person. These remote devices can further improve the efficiency of communication between the patient and the healthcare provider as well as provide new tools for chronic disease management.

The monitoring devices that a patient wears can be carefully examined through the data it sends electronically back to the care team and, in turn, a doctor can properly organize the following appointments and treatments. In addition to this, some of the burdens can be taken from the physicians and delivered to the chronic care management that follows these monitoring devices. These are only some of the many ways physicians can empower their patients with digital tools.

Wearables

The most commonly used wearable technology that offers certain medical insight nowadays is fitness trackers and smartwatches. Wearables have a ton of benefits and have a lot of potentials to be developed even further. The world of telemedicine is constantly expanding and growing.

With this incredible growth rate seen during the pandemic, it is safe to say that the available wearables for patients will only get better and better. Using a wearable provided by a health care provider, a patient can also monitor the changes in his condition himself and therefore the engagement of the patient is increased. Additionally, wearables will then have a positive effect on the patient who will be inspired and encouraged to attend the following controls.

AI learning in health care

The constant advancement in AI learning capabilities has tremendously revolutionized the world of healthcare today. AI can be integrated to follow and understand health parameters as well as patterns and provide timely alerts to health care providers for potential health problems and detected changes.

Prevention, early detection, and early intervention are all some of the advantages that come with this AI system. The AI interprets and analyzes data. It has the ability to suggest resources, treatments options, as well as a full communication plan and preventive campaigns of health. Of course, this means investing a bit more to properly set up and develop the AI and the system. However, the pros are well worth the time and energy.

Furthermore, AI can be used to offer personalized patient education solutions on those conditions that are left unmanaged. Therefore, it definitely plays a big role in the patients' engagement and is an excellent digital tool to encourage patients to attend their controls.

Personalized health and predictive medicine

Personalized treatment plans improve care delivery, especially to those managing chronic diseases and conditions. AI is again used here as a digital tool that has the ability to provide each patient with unique care designed to cover their specific needs.

In addition to this, personalized patient education can be used to further integrate the patient in the health care program and make sure he or she follows the appointed controls regularly. For example, health care organizations can use predictive medicine strategies to communicate and provide targeted messages to the desired patient.

AI patient engagement that uses personalized health strategies and predictive medicine, can incorporate both pre-care and post-care strategies to reduce cancellations and overall patient experience. At the end of the day, digital engagement strategies provide excellent tools for improved quality of care and patient outcomes. Moreover, they allow physicians to take care of more patients in the same amount of time.

Electronic health records

Digital health information is collected through an electronic health record or EHR. To put it simply, it presents a full, digital version of a patient's medical history. So, how exactly does this improve the chances of patients attending their controls? Well, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, health IT enables healthcare providers to manage patients efficiently by secure sharing and utilization of health information using electronic health records.

The future technological tools of health care and its advancement

As there is no doubt that the technological tools and strategies currently implemented only increase the efficiency of health care and patient engagement, there is no doubt that we will see new, more refined and more advanced technological tools in the future. Integrated technology such as AI has the ability to deeply personalize care nad provide education platforms for all patients.

Patients, using the various digital tools provided by their healthcare providers, have the ability to engage, even from their mobile devices in the communication with their doctors, set up appointments, do follow-up controls, etc. When all of this is available to them from the comfort of their homes, it is quite clear why the world of technological tools of healthcare are becoming more and more popular as well as used throughout the world.

So, to concluded and sum up everything we have said so far, we can clearly see the power of digital tools provided by healthcare to patients. Increased accessibitily that is provided by these technological tools also means improved patient engagement, increased accountability, and better health outcome. Finally, the use of technological tools and their easy access has a positive impact on patients and their attended controls.