What is driving early consumer use of telehealth/virtual visit services? What factors most impact the experience?

 

Healthcare has reached a unique moment where there is both a growing consensus that care needs to focus more on the 99% of life that takes place outside of physical encounters with clinicians, and the emergence of technology that allows healthcare organizations to connect with people wherever they are. When technology like Conversational AI for on-demand information or synchronous virtual visits with doctors are used effectively, they create meaningful touchpoints on the patient’s terms that bring healthcare more in line with the personalized, convenient, and effective experiences consumers are seeing in interactions elsewhere in their lives. Patients who feel that their interactions fit their specific needs and health status are more likely to engage and adopt positive healthy behaviors after any encounter. Digital and automated solutions such as, reminding patients and members to stay adherent with prescribed medication, encouraging them to complete important tests and screenings, or helping them manage chronic conditions between doctor visits are all proven to be more effective when they are tailored to the individual.

 

What needs do seniors have as they age that could be addressed by new IoT solutions? How open are they to assistive technologies, products, and services?

 

Seniors are not a monolith when it comes to technology adoption: some will be eager to try and embrace new technology while others will lag behind. Organizations supporting large and diverse senior populations are often looking to encourage healthy behavior change and engage them when outside of physical care settings. We have seen these efforts succeed across the broadest range of senior populations when they leverage the technologies that seniors have already widely adopted, such as texting on mobile phones. Utilizing new capabilities like Conversational AI, delivered on a familiar text message channel creates huge opportunity for healthcare organizations. They can connect with seniors on their terms, while expanding touchpoints and activating positive behavior change between encounters through technology. That means that organizations can encourage even reluctant tech adopters to take key actions like refilling important prescriptions, improving diet and exercise, completing wellness checkups, and getting a flu shot, at scale and with intelligent tailoring.