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Technology-Enabled Communications: The Key to Connected HealthcareUsing technology to engage patients and drive essential clinical interventions

Contents

Introduction 4

What Is Connected Healthcare? 6

Connecting Beyond The Clinical Setting 8

Creating An Engagement Loop 10

Benefits Of Connected Healthcare 12

Taking Routine Care Beyond The Clinical Setting 14

Managing Chronic Disease 18

Improving Care Transitions 22

Conclusion 24

About West’s TeleVox Solutions 25

About West’s Engagement Center 25

Today, technology enables healthcare professionals to communicate with patients

and provide services in ways that seemed futuristic not that long ago.

Technology-Enabled Communications: The Key To Connected Healthcare4

Wearable devices allow physicians to monitor

patients remotely and respond to issues.

Automatic reminders keep patients on track

with medication. Digital wellness programs

support and encourage patients as they make

behavior changes for better health. These and

other technology-enabled communications

and services are growing in popularity.

In 2015, approximately 4.9 million people

worldwide used some form of home health

technology. That number is expected to

rise to around 36.1 million by 2020.i While

the adoption of various technologies by both

providers and patients is a sign of progress,

there is a big hurdle to overcome before

the ultimate goals of improving the care

experience, achieving better health outcomes,

and lowering costs can consistently and

definitively be reached. Right now there is

a serious lack of connectivity across all of

these different devices and technologies.

Because of this, much of the technology stops

short of its potential. That needs to change.

After all, what good does it do to remotely

monitor a patient’s health if there are gaps

in communication, follow-up is limited, and

issues aren’t prevented? Why outfit patients

with devices and then not communicate with

them and engage them to ensure they are

taking appropriate steps to improve or maintain

their health?

When used as a communication tool to

engage patients, technology can (and does)

have the potential to revolutionize care. The key

is making sure technology is used effectively

to deliver truly connected healthcare. This

West report, Connected Healthcare: Using

Technology To Engage Patients And Improve

Care, explores ways technology can improve

care across the continuum. It highlights

strategies for using technology in the

management of routine, chronic and transition

care and addresses connectivity challenges.

5

What Is Connected Healthcare?

6

Throughout this report the term “connected healthcare” is used repeatedly.

What exactly is connected healthcare? There are two key parts to it. First,

connected healthcare uses technology to go beyond the traditional clinical

environment where healthcare is typically administered. This includes things like

follow-up outreach, appointment reminders, and notifications that prompt patients

to schedule routine screenings. Secondly, connected care creates a feedback

loop that keeps patients and providers connected and engaged. This second

half is the more challenging part – and it is where the industry needs to devote

attention going forward. It includes things like reviewing real-time patient data

and providing direct feedback, raising flags and responding quickly to urgent

needs, and using information to make necessary changes to treatment plans.

7Technology-Enabled Communications: The Key To Connected Healthcare

Technology gives healthcare professionals

many avenues outside of face-to-face visits

through which they can connect with patients.

A majority of patients have access to smartphones

and other technology. It is easier than ever to

reach patients via voicemails, text messages and

emails, and bring healthcare to them in ways that

are convenient and preferred. An earlier report

from West, Technology Beyond the Exam Room:

How Digital Media is Helping Doctors Deliver

the Highest Level of Care, found that 85 percent

of healthcare consumers feel that high-tech

engagement, by email, text message and voicemail,

is as helpful, if not even more helpful, than in-person

or phone conversations with their doctors.

Tens of thousands of healthcare providers have

already implemented some form of between-visit

engagement programs with automated appointment,

prescription and treatment notification and reminder

technology. A previous West study found that two-

thirds (66 percent) of Americans have received

a voicemail, text or email from their healthcare

provider, and many reported a positive outcome.

For example, half said they felt more valued as a

patient, a third said that digital communication had

improved their opinion of their healthcare provider,

and a third said they felt more certain about visiting

that healthcare provider again.

These voicemails, texts and email messages extend

services beyond the clinical setting and establish

a connection between providers and patients. Of

course, a big question is whether or not these

communications from healthcare providers help

engage patients and improve care. Feedback from

patients indicates the answer is “Yes.”

According to West’s Study, A Fragile Nation In

Poor Health, three in ten Americans indicated that

they would like to receive text messages, voicemails

or emails that help them keep on track with their

treatment. These individuals stated that they would

appreciate communications that:

• Remind them to renew prescriptions

• Prompt them to come in for a check-up

• Encourage them to schedule a preventive exam

• Remind them of an already-scheduled appointment

The numbers tend to go up slightly among patients

who already have a serious or chronic condition. For

example, nearly four in ten patients with diabetes

(38 percent) or hypertension (37 percent) said

they would be interested in receiving tips from a

doctor with regards to managing their weight. A

similar number of obese patients (39 percent) said

they would be interested in receiving such tips,

while 38 percent of people diagnosed as obese

said that it would motivate them to make changes

to their lifestyle. This pattern is repeated when it

comes to managing stress. Thirty-six percent of

obese patients, 36 percent of diabetic patients and

35 percent of patients with hypertension said they

would be receptive to communications about stress-

management from their doctors.

Connecting Beyond the Clinical Setting


Patients See Value in Technology-Enabled Communications

of patients feel engagement by email, text message and voicemail, is as helpful, if not more helpful, than in-person or phone conversations with their doctors 85%

of obese patients believe receiving weight management tips from their doctor motivates them to make lifestyle improvements

of patients with diabetes are interested in receiving weight-management tips from their doctor

of patients with hypertension are interested in receiving weight-management tips from their doctor

of patients with diabetes welcome stress-management communications from their doctor

of patients with hypertension welcome stress-management communications from their doctor

38%

39%

37%

36%

35%

Communication Motivates Chronic Care Patients

9

The Engagement

Loop

Biometric Monitoring

Escalation

Intervention

Engagement & Action

10

Sending engagement messages to patients is

one thing, but completing the communication

circle requires more effort. In the past, automated

communication systems have been used

predominantly for one-way communication from

medical practice to patient. However, when

combined with newer connected healthcare

technology, these systems offer plenty of

opportunities for bi-directional communication,

in which data flows seamlessly between patient

and practitioner and back again, even if multiple

devices are involved. Also, there is an entire element

of connected care that can’t be overlooked – the

human element. Medical providers and their staff

can receive patient data and escalate cases or

intervene if there is an immediate need. Imagine a

patient with hypertension is being monitored by her

physician because she is considered to be a high-

risk patient. The patient not only needs a monitoring

device that will send blood pressure readings to

her healthcare team, but if those readings indicate

a pattern of increased blood pressure, she needs

someone to recognize that and step in to take

action. The technology can flag the issue (increased

blood pressure) but the nurse or other medical

professional that picks up the phone to have a

conversation with her is key to helping the patient

overcome problems and modifying behaviors to

prevent reoccurrence.

It is important to use technology to link patients

to live (human) resources that close the loop.

This includes things like evaluating information

that is received remotely from connected medical

devices, and contacting patients to offer help

when needed.

Creating An Engagement Loop

“The promise of leveraging technologies such as wearable

devices and systems like EHRs to drive patient engagement

is lost if providers can’t easily receive information and

appropriately respond to findings in a timely manner.”

Chuck Hayes, Vice President of Product Management for TeleVox Solutions, West Corporation


There are several reasons why connected care

is beneficial to both patients and providers.

For one thing, connected healthcare encourages

patients to become engaged in their own care. And

when patients are engaged in their healthcare,

outcomes are better.

Think about a patient with heart disease that uses

a biometric device to measure ECG and monitor

their chronic health condition. The device’s sensors

capture and report readings to the patient’s

medical team multiple times per day. Healthcare

professionals track the patient’s condition so they

can intervene when necessary. If the patient’s

readings show signs that indicate the patient is at

risk, the healthcare team can call the patient to

discuss what is happening. This outreach helps

engage the patient and allows him to better manage

his chronic condition by taking actions to prevent

serious health issues.

Payment is another benefit of connected care.

Healthcare providers can no longer afford to treat

caring for patients as something that happens

just through face-to-face interactions. Continuous

care that extends beyond the clinical environment

is necessary to achieve the quality and cost

requirements of value-based payment programs. In

other words, the benefit is getting paid.

Value-based payment programs put pressure on

providers to accept full-time responsibility for the

health of patients. Providers must plan for what

happens to patients when they are outside the

walls of their particular clinic, hospital, nursing home

or practice. Hospital readmissions are a perfect

example. CMS has implemented several value-

driven rules and programs that target readmissions.

Hospitals are now more accountable for patients

after discharge, and they can receive penalties for

avoidable hospital readmissions. But that’s not all.

In order to earn value-based financial incentives,

providers need to ensure patients are engaged

in their care at home, and that they participate in

routine screenings and preventive care. Nursing

homes need to communicate with family members

of residents – and with external healthcare

providers – to coordinate care for individuals

transitioning in and out of their facilities.

The need for these engagement activities will

continue to increase with the rise of value-based

payment programs. At least 30 percent of Medicare

payments are now tied to alternative payment

models that reward the quality of care over quantity

of services provided to beneficiaries, and CMS is

working to get that number to 50 percent or more

by the end of 2018.ii

Benefits of Connected Healthcare


Financial Motivation for Connected Care

Expanding value-based payment programs reward connected care

of Medicare payments are now tied to value

of Medicare payments will be tied to alternative payments by the end of 2018

36%

50%

13

Routine preventive care is a critical area of

healthcare and an essential service for patients.

The CDC reports that if everyone in the U.S. received

recommended clinical preventive care there would

be 100,000 lives saved each year.iii Unfortunately,

Americans use routine care at half the suggested

rate.iv Besides saving lives, routine care improves

patients’ quality of life by detecting issues early.

And, since it is less expensive to prevent disease than

treat disease, routine care reduces healthcare costs.

A West survey found that more than one third

(35 percent) of patients say they could follow

treatment plans better if they received intra-visit

reminders from their care team. This number is

significant because 83 percent of patients currently

say they do not closely follow instructions from their

doctor. It is common for healthy individuals to overlook

the importance of preventive care. Often people don’t

think about their health unless they have specific

problems. That is why ongoing communication from

healthcare providers is so beneficial – it makes

prevention more of a priority. And when prevention

becomes a priority, health outcomes improve and

patients have better healthcare experiences.

There is solid evidence that reaching out to patients

between visits can prompt them to take specific

actions. Ochsner Health Systems proved what

technology-enabled communications can achieve in

the area of preventive healthcare. Ochsner is based

in Louisiana, where the number of adults aged

50-75 who are up to date with colorectal screening

programs is at the lower end of the national average,

which the Centers for Disease Control puts at 54 to

75 percent.

Ochsner implemented a program of automated

phone notifications to encourage a group of 3,137

patients with recent orders for a colonoscopy

or upper endoscopy to schedule a screening

appointment. The team at Ochsner knows that

patients are often reluctant to schedule these

appointments. To combat the procrastination that

frequently sets in, the notifications were designed to

enable patients to respond immediately by pressing

a button on their phone, which put them through to

the Ochsner team members who were available to

schedule an exam or answer any questions.

Within a month of the program’s launch, 578 of

the 3,137 patients contacted had scheduled their

test — a conversion rate of 18.4 percent.

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

notes that the average 60-year-old without special

risk factors for polyps has a 25 percent chance

of having a polyp. While these polyps may or may

not contain areas of cancer, the exam enables the

Ochsner team to address the situation as early

as possible. Since 578 patients responded to the

outreach campaign, Ochsner calculates that an

estimated 145 individuals – the 25 percent with a

potential polyp – benefited greatly from this early

detection and prevention campaign.

This highlights one of the many ways preventive

healthcare can be transformed with communications

technology. The same process can be used to

schedule immunizations for children, encourage well-

woman exams among female patients, and support

cholesterol tests for middle-aged men.

Taking Routine Care Beyond The Clinical Setting


What the Ochsner example shows is:

• Patient engagement can be bolstered in two ways: the use of seamless, convenient and pervasive technology that makes it easy for patients to respond, and messages that are personal.

• Patients respond well to technology-enabled engagement communications. Messages sent on a one-to-many basis are an effective way to drive participation in preventive care. Ochsner’s messages appeared to patients to be one-to-one messages, even though they were sent as mass communications.

• Because outreach can be automated, it can be done cost-effectively and efficiently. For example, eight people at Ochsner managed an outreach program that would ordinarily require a thirty-person call center, with all the attendant costs.

To understand some of the other ways healthcare

teams can use technology-enabled communications

to improve engagement and encourage routine

care, consider an example of a relatively healthy

middle-aged patient. At age 48, this patient has no

chronic health conditions and lives a fairly active

lifestyle. Because this patient has no ongoing health

issues, he does not visit his physician often. But

that doesn’t mean he has no care needs, or that his

healthcare team should not be involved in helping

him maintain his good health. Instead, this patient’s

healthcare team can send him an automatic

notification when he is due for a checkup – to make

sure he receives routine tests and screenings for

conditions like cholesterol and diabetes. His medical

team can send him a text in the fall to recommend

a flu vaccine. They can invite him to participate in a

web-based wellness program, or complete a health

Communication Encourages Routine Care

Americans use preventive services at half the recommended rate

could be saved if all patients in the U.S. received recommended preventive care

100,000 lives

of patients feel between-visit communications help them follow care plans, including participating in routine care35%

15

“There is an opportunity to activate patients and really create behavior change and accountability, and the by-product of that improved engagement is better adherence to treatment plans and healthier patients. Patient engagement and activation has become incredibly important because it extends the connection between the healthcare team and the patient, which translates into successful outcomes and mitigates excessive costs associated with caring for the patient.”

Allison Hart,

Vice President of Marketing for TeleVox Solutions,

West Corporation

16

risk assessment. From there he can be offered

behavior change coaching to help with lifestyle

changes, like quitting smoking, for example. Many

of these communications can be scheduled for

automatic delivery. The outreach messages can

also include an option to be connected to a medical

professional, schedule an appointment, or perform

some other follow-up activity. Regardless of the

types of outreach chosen, there are many different

ways to provide preventive services and care to this

patient between visits.

Preventive care is meant to keep patients healthy

(rather than simply be a response to existing

issues), thus it needs to be something that happens

regularly, not sporadically. It’s unlikely that a doctor

can prevent a patient with borderline high blood

pressure from developing more serious issues if

the only interaction with that patient occurs during

an annual physical. Much more communication

and coaching is necessary to help patients prevent

problems and maintain their best level of health. A

doctor may first discover at an annual exam that a

patient is nearing dangerous territory because they

have borderline high blood pressure. This discovery

can kick off a preventive care campaign to help

protect the patient from more serious health issues

like a heart attack or stroke. Initially, the doctor

may order the patient to begin monitoring their

blood pressure closely at home and then reporting

the results. As time goes on, if the results do not

show improvement the medical team can intervene

and become more involved in guiding the patient

to adopt dietary and lifestyle improvements. For

example, the patient could be assigned a wellness

coach that creates meal and exercise plans and

habits focused on lowering blood pressure. Ongoing

wellness coaching like this can help the patient

reduce their risk of becoming seriously ill. Ultimately,

healthcare teams that get involved in the lives of

patients and engage them with preventive care

beyond the clinical setting can help individuals

achieve the best outcomes. This is what makes

preventive care successful.

In other words, by sending personalized

communications that remind and motivate patients

to schedule preventive screenings and providing

coaching that helps patients adopt healthy

behaviors, providers can engage patients in

their own healthcare and push them to take the

steps that will allow them to get and stay healthy.

Additionally, activating patients can prevent the 80

percent of the population who are mostly well and

healthy from becoming the 20 percent of chronically

unwell who drive healthcare costs.


The burden of chronic disease weighs heavily on

America. The CDC states that chronic illness is

responsible for approximately 7 out of every 10

deaths in the U.S. It also accounts for more than 80

percent of health system costs in the United States.

About half of all adults in the U.S. have one or more

chronic health condition. One in four adults has two

or more chronic health conditions. Clearly, effective

chronic disease management and prevention is

important in today’s healthcare industry. That’s why

the CDC and other policymakers have been focused

on finding ways to control chronic disease. It is also

why patients across the country are using devices –

like blood pressure cuffs, glucometers, and pulse

oximeters – with sensors that send data back to

medical providers for evaluation.

By the year 2020, it is predicted that:

• Around 1.9 million patients will remotely monitor congestive heart failure

• More than 700,000 patients will remotely monitor diabetes

• Nearly 575,000 patients will remotely monitor hypertension

• Just under 400,000 patients will remotely monitor COPDv

Three areas of chronic disease – heart conditions

(mainly congestive heart failure), asthma (COPD),

and diabetes – are responsible for nearly 20% of

all the money spent treating chronic illness.vi These

three conditions also carry a lot of opportunity

when it comes to patient engagement and improved

outcomes. Diabetes is a good example of a chronic

condition that can be managed effectively through

engagement efforts. Patients with diabetes are

the perfect candidates for engagement programs

Managing Chronic Disease

Chronic Disease Management on the Rise

By the year 2020:

Around 1.9 million patients will remotely monitor congestive heart failure

More than 700,000 patients will remotely monitor diabetes

Nearly 575,000 patients will remotely monitor hypertension

Just under 400,000 patients will remotely monitor COPD

18

because the condition is impacted heavily by patient

behavior. In other words, if you can get patients to

adopt healthy habits, like eating balanced meals,

exercising regularly, and visiting their physician for

routine screenings, health outcomes can be greatly

improved. So what does an effective engagement

plan look like for a patient with diabetes? Here is

an example:

A 65-year-old patient with diabetes is assigned to a care management program. A care manager uses technology to create a series of automated communications to support the patient’s care plan. This includes simple text messages that are delivered when it is time for the patient to schedule foot and eye exams, and again when the patient needs to make an appointment for an A1c draw. It also includes automated calls to collect blood sugar readings, and a seasonal email with information on an upcoming flu shot clinic. The delivery timeline for these communications is customized to meet the needs of this patient, but the messages are delivered automatically so the care manager does not have to keep track of when to send each message. This helps ensure that important communications aren’t forgotten and that a consistent communication pattern keeps the patient engaged. The care manager relies on the technology to help her remind the patient and coach him through disease management on an ongoing basis. And if the patient begins to struggle or experience health issues, the care manager can adjust the communications and add, for example, a daily reminder to encourage the patient to participate in 30 minutes of physical activity. Or send a prompt to schedule an appointment with a dietician. Because of the capabilities of the technology, the communications are patient-centered, yet automated and efficient. There are also alerts that notify the care manager when an

intervention is needed, at which point that person would call the patient and have a discussion about next steps. Whatever the solution turns out to be, it’s important to recognize that the process of monitoring the patient’s health, communicating instructions, escalating and intervening is how the care manager helps the patient manage his diabetes. And this process is improved when technology supports these steps and is connected at every point.

Like diabetes, there are many other chronic

conditions that can be improved or at least

managed by making positive lifestyle changes.

Reducing stress, losing weight, exercising more,

quitting smoking and other behavioral changes

can directly affect health outcomes for those with

a chronic illness. Healthcare providers can use

technology as a tool to drive patients to make some

of these positive lifestyle changes.

A chronic disease management plan like the one

outlined above offers a higher quality of care

than if a care manager were to attempt all of

the actions without automated communications

and support services from a team of nurses and

trained healthcare coaches. There simply is not

enough time in the day to manually complete all

the tasks outlined above for every patient that has

diabetes. A combination of technology and live care

management services is really the key to making

this type of chronic disease management possible.

When thinking about how technology improves

care quality across chronic disease management,

another interesting point to consider is that 20

percent of medical errors today are caused by

diagnostic errors. Some of these are wrong


diagnoses, but many are often delayed diagnoses.

Nearly 2,000 deaths in the last five years in the

U.S. were found to be caused by medical errors. vii

Proper disease management that uses connected

technology to accelerate the diagnosis and treatment

of chronic illness-related issues can save lives. A

patient that has been known to have heart failure

can use a monitor at home with sensors to detect

changes in heart rate, respiration and other vitals.

The connected medical device can send biometric

data to the patient’s medical team. And, it can also

send emergency alerts if the patient’s readings

indicate something is not right. These alerts can

help doctors recognize a potential problem before a

medical emergency occurs. This kind of monitoring

and escalation is an improvement over the old way

of doing things, where the only way a provider knew

that a patient was having problems was if that patient

ended up in the emergency room.

Most patients are not able to manage a chronic health

condition entirely on their own. They need support and

a team of professionals behind them to coach them

and cheer them on. This is an area where technology,

together with guidance from trained professionals,

can benefit patients on a daily basis, continuously over

a long period of time.


Diabetes Management Engagement Cycle

Care Manager

Patient receives messages and

responds by taking actions (ACTIVATED)

Patient’s medical device sends data to the system

Care manager creates a series of communications

Care manager responds to alerts and makes phone call to patient

1

System sends communications automatically

to patient

2 3

4Care manager

gets notifications from the system

56Patient

System

21

Besides routine care and chronic disease

management, transition care management is one

of the most pressing challenges facing healthcare

organizations today. While there are several different

points of transition across the care continuum, the

hospital post-discharge transition has been a main

focus for healthcare providers in recent years. This

is partly because of financial penalties and rewards

that have been tied to hospital readmissions. The

Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, which

was created by the Affordable Care Act, penalizes

hospitals for having too many readmissions within a

30-day time frame. This program, and the financial

penalties tied to it, have helped reduce the number

of readmissions in the U.S. However, around 20

percent of Medicare patients discharged from the

hospital are readmitted within a month.viii So there is

still work to be done. Hospitals (and other providers)

need to pay even more attention to what is going

on with patients after they have been discharged

from the hospital. Initially, hospitals themselves were

the ones bearing the weight of readmissions – and

they appeared to be the ones tasked with reducing

avoidable readmissions. However, that is changing

by the day. While hospitals in particular have had

to learn that many aspects of a patient’s care plan

happen outside of the hospital, other providers

are recognizing that the responsibility of caring

for patients after a hospital stay is shared. Now,

all healthcare providers need to be aware of their

impact on readmissions and patient outcomes. And

providers, collectively, need to engage and activate

patients during that important 30-day window

of time after they have been released from the

hospital. This, of course, is easier said than done.

But the job is more manageable when healthcare

organizations use connected technology to optimize

care transitions and reduce readmissions.

To understand some of the ways technology-

enabled communications help provide deliberate

and meaningful touch points during the post-

hospital transition period, consider a common

patient discharge scenario.

A 58-year-old patient has recently been discharged from the hospital after having a heart attack. The patient is returning home, working to heal both physically and emotionally from the trauma caused by the heart attack. He has been given medications and instructions for lifestyle changes as part of his care plan. The goal, of course, is to get the patient on the road to a full recovery, and avoid complications that would cause additional sickness, suffering, and a hospital readmission.

In most cases, a patient will require some amount

of follow-up care after being discharged from the

hospital. This patient is no exception. So what does

that follow-up care look like? Who is responsible for

administering it? How can it be offered to the patient

in the most useful way? And most importantly, how

can the patient’s healthcare team ensure he does

not become one of the approximately 18 percent of

Improving Care Transitions

Around 20% of Medicare patients discharged from the hospital are readmitted within a month.


patients in the U.S. that are readmitted to the hospital

within 30 days of being discharged after suffering

from a heart attack?ix

Imagine the patient in the example above was given three new prescriptions for medications to take. He may have questions about when and how to take the medications or whether they can be taken in combination with a previous prescription. The hospital can use technology-enabled communications to coordinate with the patient’s primary care doctor and pharmacy to ensure the patient has all the information they need to safely and correctly follow medication instructions. The hospital can also survey the patient to find out if he is having difficulty with medication or other discharge instructions, and learn what services or interventions might be beneficial. And a care manager can provide phone support to answer questions.

Technology-enabled communications are also

important to ensure that follow-up appointments,

which are critical to recovery, are scheduled with

a primary care physician or specialist. Leveraging

outreach technology to coordinate follow-up care

for the patient not only takes stress off of the

patient, but it also guarantees that he will receive

the necessary follow-up to help him stay on the

path to recovery.

If stress, diet, or other lifestyle factors were

suspected to have contributed to the patient’s heart

attack and hospitalization, then it will be important

for the patient to receive some wellness coaching.

This could be technology-enabled outreach

that contains healthy habit tips, reminders, and

encouragement that will keep the patient informed

and engaged as he works to recover and improve

his health. It also might involve calls from a nursing

support team trained in helping patients recover

after a heart attack.

It is important to note that because patients may

be in a poor state of health when recovering

from a hospitalization, any and all engagement

communications need to be easy for patients to

understand and digest. They should come in the

form that patients want and be delivered at a time

that makes sense. Also, communications should

include a convenient way for patients to respond or

get in touch with a care coordinator or other medical

professional. Keeping these factors in mind when

developing the communication strategy will improve

its effectiveness in engaging and activating patients.

23

Healthcare can’t be delivered only during face-to-face interactions.

Luckily for patients and providers, there is technology available that

can efficiently deliver communications, monitor patients at home,

receive and interpret updates about the health of patients, and initiate

appropriate responses. The technology that exists today gives providers

opportunities and tools to extend healthcare’s reach beyond the clinical

setting, but using technology to simply monitor patients is not enough.

The key to achieving the best results is not only incorporating different

devices and technology into patient care, but also ensuring these

devices are complemented by technology-enabled communications to

engage and activate patients and aid clinical staff in providing needed

interventions and feedback. Getting this formula right and making

healthcare more connected increases care quality, improves patient

health, and reduces the overall cost of care.

Conclusion

24

About West’s TeleVox Solutions

West offers TeleVox Solutions to help healthcare

providers and other organizations activate positive

patient and member behaviors through the delivery

of personalized technology-enabled engagement

communications. We specialize in leveraging

automated voice, email and text communications to

connect with healthcare consumers in meaningful

and relevant ways – all for the purpose of increasing

engagement, improving care quality and driving

revenue by optimizing the patient experience.

About The West Engagement Center

West’s Engagement Center solutions help

healthcare organizations effectively activate and

engage patients and members, beyond the clinical

setting, as they traverse the healthcare system.

By providing innovative technology and creating

strategic communications at key points across

the care continuum, West’s Engagement Center

enables healthcare providers to reduce costs,

maximize revenue, improve quality and optimize

the patient experience.

West is a leading provider of technology-driven,

communication services, serving Fortune 1000

companies and clients in a variety of industries,

including: healthcare, telecommunications, retail,

financial services, public safety, and technology.

The West Engagement Center – Solutions for

Consumer-Centered Healthcare Engagement.

Learn more about how West is changing healthcare:

west.com/healthcare

televox.com

i mHealth and Home Monitoring. Berg Insight’s M2M Research Series. 2015.

ii Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Accessed May 2016. https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2016-Fact-sheets-items/2016-03-03-2.html

iii Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Prevention Checklist. 2015. Accessed June 2016. http://www.cdc.gov/prevention/

iv Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventive Healthcare. Accessed June 2016. http://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/toolstemplates/entertainmented/tips/preventivehealth.html

v Pai, Aditi “IHS: About 4M patients will use remote patient monitoring technologies by 2020” MobiHealthNews. August 2015.

vi Internet of Things Vol. 5, “The Digital Revolution Comes To US Healthcare” Goldman Sachs. June 2015.

vii Malpractice Risks in Communication Failures, 2015 Annual Benchmarking Report. Crico.

viii Kaiser Health News. Half Of Nation’s Hospitals Fail Again To Escape Medicare’s Readmission Penalties. August 2015.

ix Partners Healthcare, 30-Day Unplanned Readmission Rates for Heart Attack, Pneumonia, Heart Failure. Accessed June 2016. http://qualityandsafety.partners.org/Cost-Effective-Care/Readmission-Rates-For-Heart-Conditions-And-Pneumonia.aspx#sthash.in9KdE3T.dpuf

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