It’s a new day in healthcare. Accessing mobile apps on a smartphone can change the outcome of diabetes, obesity, depression, anxiety and many other conditions that require behavioral changes.
Billions of dollars of capital are pouring into digital health in anticipation of the hockey stick’s growth curve. While we are tackling disease in pioneering ways, we cannot create a world where digital health is a privilege for the tech-savvy, wealthy and educated.
Because chronic diseases are already prevalent among black, Hispanic, low-income and older populations, we cannot afford to create new types of inequality.Today, 97% of Americans own a cell phone, and 85% own a smartphone. Although this data implies that everyone Cell phones are available and we have work to do.
According to the most recent National Poll on Healthy Ageing from the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, just 44% of older Americans People in their 50s and 80s have used health apps. People with ill health are least likely to do so. However, those with higher incomes and education were more likely to use health apps.
As we embrace breakthroughs in digital health, let’s not cut, paste, and diffuse health equity issues in the offline world. We can claim success only when we measure who is involved, who is not, and why. Let us create and reward a digital health ecosystem responsible for addressing socioeconomic barriers, By design. While no company has a silver bullet, we can go beyond the “checkbox” answers and deliver equitable care through digital health.
Start with awareness
Information about new virtual care benefits is often provided in the form of emails or company work newsletters. Just click the link to download the app and get started — easy, right? What about employees who don’t sit at their desks? What about a single mom who works two different jobs but doesn’t check email every day?
How do we reach older adults with multiple chronic diseases who don’t have an email address at all? The range of technology access issues is broad, and we need to meet members in the community, in the clinic, on the phone, on billboards, on social media, in the workplace, and at home. “Surround sound” means that we understand the various offline and online environments that apply to different groups of people, and meet them there.
Bridging the Tech Literacy Gap
Trust is important when reaching socioeconomically diverse populations, and we have a responsibility to earn that trust. When seeking to participate in new technology-based benefits to improve health, we encounter a variety of tech literacy issues: “I don’t download apps,” “I don’t remember my App Store password,” or “I’ve never used a smartphone.” “
We can overcome these obstacles if we pay attention. A virtual chronic care company has built a service center entirely focused on enrollment support. This walks patients step-by-step through the app setup process, provides hands-on experience with all the features in the app, and even helps them reset their app store password if necessary.
In addition to its mobile app, the company also offers a web-based version of its chronic care plan as an alternative for those without a smartphone. Focusing on technical literacy at the beginning of the process enables caregivers in the app to support and encourage patients.
About the hard-to-reach hidden truth
Addressing tech literacy alone is not enough. If we take the time to look beyond the top, we will discover deeper human problems. “I’ve always had these conditions and nothing will change.” “I’m overwhelmed, I can’t start new things.” Unless we overcome the deeper problems — hopelessness, isolation, food insecurity and affordability, Otherwise we cannot change healthcare.
For digital health solutions, it starts with revealing the truth about everyone. If a person is “off the grid” because of various health and life realities, AI and robotics alone won’t help. Relationships are important, and care team members who are properly trained in motivational interviewing can enable people to take control of their health even in difficult situations.
When a human provider learns that the nearest grocery store serving vegetables to a patient is 30 miles away (and they are buying frozen vegetables from the local dollar store), they can think outside the box. Technology and data can find the most affordable drug alternatives, but it’s the human connection with the provider that makes the biggest difference. The best digital health companies combine the human element of connection with the power of technology to deliver results.
“Please speak my language”
Connecting with people of different ethnicities is more than just using Google Translate to change classes from English to another language. An Indian patient with heart disease sought an Indian doctor because they thought a doctor would understand why grilled meat, rice, and lentils are central to dietary patterns. It requires a real understanding of one’s customs, food, language and community.
Technology can shine in this dimension. Machine learning can be used to personalize content based on ethnicity and member preferences. App-based nutritional guidance can identify the differences between plantains and bananas and modify sections of arroz con pollo to reduce carbs. App-based peer groups can bring together members of the Latino community who are trying to manage stress, lose weight, or manage diabetes.
We can create equitable healthcare through digital health, and these are just a few ideas to start. If we innovate while sowing the seeds of social awareness, we can break down socioeconomic barriers to health.
Photo: Peter Pencil, Getty Images
