The health of our nation is at a critical level. Today, it’s estimated 6 in 10 American adults have a chronic disease, with 40% of adults having two or more such diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With the prevalence of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity and other chronic illnesses, lifestyle medicine is needed now more than ever.
With the potential to prevent, and reverse, chronic diseases, lifestyle medicine providers can effectively drive change to help individuals add years to their lives. And yet, barriers to positive outcomes exist – predominantly where patient engagement is concerned. How can providers keep patients engaged after their appointments and throughout their journey to better health? Personalized care with the help of the right technology.
Here we look at how digital wellness tools equipped with automation technology can help lifestyle medicine providers see benefits in their practices and patient populations.
Increased motivation for lasting lifestyle changes
Often, individuals are highly motivated to make critical lifestyle changes when they, or a family member, are diagnosed with a chronic illness or present risk indicators of disease. This a-ha moment is the first step in helping individuals improve their health and well-being.
With digital wellness technology, lifestyle medicine providers can capitalize on these moments of realization and early motivation to engage patients with vital educational offerings to better understand health issues. Providers can now easily launch personalized online courses, with on-demand content, videos and articles, to educate and engage patients throughout every stage of their health and wellness journey. Whether it is for weight management, fitness, sleep, smoking cessation or healthy eating, these convenient, microlearning courses keep patients on track to achieve lasting health goals.
Streamlined communication and administrative operations
Lifestyle medicine providers transform lives, but often get bogged down by administrative tasks and are often limited by short appointments. With digital tools at their fingertips, providers can now deliver individualized care at scale, driving positive patient and practice outcomes beyond the clinic.
For providers looking to streamline their communications, send patient reminders, save time on administrative operations and enhance their program offerings, automated digital wellness tools could be their all-in-one solution. With digital tools like Engagement Rx®, clinics can automate the delivery of personalized content – addressing everything from substance use to stress management – while sending encouraging patient messages and program reminders. Providers can effectively, and automatically, educate patients, boost engagement, track progress and encourage patient participation without the employee involvement.
Improved patient engagement, retention and outcomes
As chronic diseases maintain a stronghold on U.S. adults, lifestyle medicine providers need tools that help, not hinder, their practices. With digital wellness tools – like Engagement Rx – providers can hyperfocus on what they do best: treat the whole patient to prevent and reverse chronic health issues. Such tools have a number of positive outcomes, including:
- Increased Knowledge: With the ability to launch on-demand educational courses, content and videos, providers can easily provide patients with bite-sized information and tips on improving health and reducing health risks whenever it’s convenient.
- Deeper Engagement: Providing discrete, digital communication tools and learning options, providers can ensure patients feel supported and secure as they address their health and wellness needs and work toward their goals in a safe, private manner.
- Better Outcomes: By facilitating the delivery of additional program offerings and opportunities for digital engagement, providers can inspire patients to stay motivated, increase program retention and, ultimately, see more positive health outcomes.
Lifestyle medicine providers are ideally positioned to help adults nationwide improve their health while preventing, treating and reversing chronic diseases – and with the right digital tool, there’s no limit to the positive impact providers can have on patient outcomes.
Contact our team for more information on how our all-in-one digital wellness platform and automation technology can help practices engage patients and drive positive outcomes.
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