Millennials are driving trends in mobile health as digital natives who rely on technologies like social media, texting, and apps. Hospitals are using portals, telemedicine, and remote monitoring to engage patients. However, many patients do not use portals due to lack of awareness or complex interfaces. Texting shows promise for improving outcomes through appointment reminders and health messages. Apps and games also motivate patients, especially for conditions like diabetes. Overall, mobile technologies allow more convenient, engaged, and proactive healthcare management.

1. MOBILE HEALTH TRENDS
John Sharp, Senior Manager
HIMSS Personal Connected Health Alliance
April 19, 2016

2. Millennials as Parents

3. Millennials
• Digital Natives
• Facebook and beyond
• Texting, Instagram, Snapchat
• Online Gaming
Time Magazine Survey

4. HIMSS Connected Health Survey 2016
http://www.himss.org/2016-connected-health-survey

5. Convenience Apps
• Online scheduling
• Bill paying
• Wayfinding
• Prescription renewals (through portal)
• Secure messaging to clarify medications, test
results (avoid phone tag, through portal)
• eVisits, Telemedicine to avoid ER visits

6. Boston Children’s
• DisCo, a Discharge Communication Platform
• sends families either a text message or an
email with 3 questions within 24 hours of
discharge.

7. National Children’s
Why Do Patients Not Use
Portals?
• “Did not know it was
available”
• “Physician never spoke to me
about it”
• Challenging groups (children,
adolescents, elderly, mental
illness)
• Confusing user interface
• Not compelling enough

8. Children's Health, Dallas, TX
• Remote patient monitoring post-transplant
• Using a tablet to connect to devices and
transmit data to the medical team (blood
pressure, weight, O2 stats)
• Eliminates visits 2x per week
• Also can be used
for patient education

9. Geisinger Medical Center
• Using the MyChart portal as the
center of the customer
experience
• Building/buying tools integrated
to reduce the administrative
time at appointments
– Medication reconciliation by
patients prior to appointments

10. Carolinas Health System
• *NEW*
View doctor's notes and
radiology reports (Open Notes)
• *NEW*
Track your health with the new
MyCarolinas Tracker app

11. Giving patients access
to their health data

12. Kaiser’s Experience
1. Secure Email Supports Improved
Outcomes And Patient-Centered
Care
2. Patient Portal Use Positively
Impacts Patient Loyalty To The
Health Plan And Member
Satisfaction
3. Evidence Of A Relationship
Between Secure Email And
Other Kinds Of Utilization Is
Mixed
4. Even With The Best Intentions,
E-Health Disparities Can Emerge

13. Feedback from Kaiser Patients
• more in control over their medical condition;
• they had access to information and access to
the people they needed to consult; and,
• more confident, less intimidated, and closer
to their physician.
http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2016/04/07/lessons-from-more-than-a-decade-in-patient-portals/

14. Use of Texting
Why texting?
• Common use among millennials – more likely
to read
• Lower income populations may not have
smart phone but do have texting
• One-way texting – health reminder messages
• Two way texting – ask for a brief response

15. Texting examples
Text4Baby
• free app to pregnant women and new
mothers about health reminders based
on the stage of pregnancy or the baby’s
age.
• user can set up appointment reminders
and watch informative videos.
• Used by almost 1 million moms.
• One study showed significant positive
change in attitudes about prenatal
health behaviors.

16. Texting Example
MetroHealth Medical Center,
Cleveland
• Direct Messaging to
Parents/Guardians to Improve
Adolescent Immunizations
• TeleVox Software Inc. 39%
increase in vaccination rates
for adolescents.
• http://www.jahonline.org/arti
cle/S1054-139X(14)00764-
2/abstract

17. Text messages reduce emergency
room visits for low income patients
with diabetes
• study of 128 patients, published in the Annals of
Emergency Medicine
• Self-reported medication adherence did improve
significantly in the intervention group, however, and
actually got worse in the control group
• 94 percent reporting they enjoyed the messages and 100
percent saying they would recommend them to a friend
• http://mobihealthnews.com/27446/text-messages-
reduce-emergency-room-visits-for-low-income-patients-
with-diabetes/

18. Text2Move for Diabetes - Partners
Significant lowering of HA1c
Kvedar, The Internet of Healthy Things

19. Where to find reviews of health apps?
• http://www.imedicalapps.com/
• http://www.nodehealth.org/
Mt. Sinai Asthma App

20. http://blog.cincinnatichildrens.org/rare-and-complex-conditions/review-of-epilepsy-and-seizure-tracking-applications/

21. Health Apps for Kids
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/reviews/category/app/genre/health-fitness-65

22. Games to motivate
Type 1 Diabetics
• Developing good habits of
checking their blood sugar
regularly or bolusing insulin with
meals
• Rewards and social competition
• Creator – Jen Dyer, MD, pediatric
endocrinologist in Columbus

23. Social Media
Sample topics
• Your Children Not Sleeping? It Might Be YOU
• Candy Or Medicine? Safe Medicine Storage
• HPV Vaccine Decreases HPV Infections!
• Dayton - Dr. Mom Squad – link to this great
content from Facebook

24. Facebook
• Used frequently by new parents to share
photos
• Feature videos and your latest blogs, not just
events
• Grow numbers by advertising in the hospital
and clinics

25. HIMSS Book of the year 2014

26. New HIMSS Book
• Participatory Healthcare: A Person-Centered
Approach to Healthcare Transformation –
Available in June
• My chapter – Programs that work to promote
partnership and engagement

27. Contact me
• HIMSS website: www.himss.org
• Email: jsharp@himss.org
• Twitter @johnsharp
• LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/johnsharp
• SlideShare:
slideshare.net/johnsharp