Mobile Health Impacts Patient Engagement, Accountable Care

Mobile health apps, wearable devices, and remote patient monitoring tools all provide superior avenues for meeting the goals of patient engagement. Ever since the HITECH Act was passed in 2009 and meaningful use requirements began mandating that patients view, download, and access their health information, more providers began focused on improving patient engagement in their practice.

To improve health and wellness, certain mobile tools like apps or wearables could potentially create more interest or engagement among patients to focus on their fitness, diet, weight, and prescription management.

The Brookings Institution reports on the role patient engagement plays in accountable care and the Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program. Essentially, greater patient engagement is vital when developing an effective ACO.

In particular, patient engagement could be related to better population health outcomes as well as reduced costs throughout the healthcare industry, as individuals become "more active participants in their care." One example is shared decision making, which stimulates conversations between providers and patients as well as allows patients to choose preferred treatments.

"What we really need is for providers and ACO leaders to partner with patients at multiple levels," Jennifer Sweeney, National Partnership for Women and Families, told the news source.

One useful strategy for increasing patient engagement stems from the organization Mercy, which has a chronic disease outreach program. This particular program employs health coaches that stimulate patients to pay greater attention to their medical needs and improves care coordination between hospital visits. It also reduces overall healthcare costs associated with mismanagement.