Turn Your Automated Notification System Into A Chronic Disease Management Tool

How you can leverage your automated notifications technology to train diabetic patients and others with chronic diseases to self-manage those conditions.

By Allison Hart, VP of Marketing, TeleVox

Patients with long-term chronic health conditions present special challenges because of the constant monitoring and attention they require. It takes ongoing effort and frequent communication to help patients manage chronic conditions and avoid complications. Because so many Americans have chronic diseases, it is a struggle for healthcare providers to routinely reach out and support all of those within their patient populations that are affected. Fortunately, technology is making it easier to automate outreach and teach patients how to self-manage chronic conditions.

The CDC reports around 45 percent of adults in the United States have at least one chronic disease, and 25 percent have more than one chronic illness. Diabetes is one of those common conditions. According to the 2014 National Diabetes Statistics Report, there are more than 29 million Americans living with diabetes. Like many other chronic conditions, diabetes can be successfully managed through proper care but it takes a commitment from both the physician and the patient.

With the help of automated notifications technology, you can promote self-treatment at each stage of the care continuum.

Preventive Care
Keeping diabetes under control takes daily effort. Patients need to monitor blood glucose levels, eat balanced meals, control food intake and portion sizes, exercise regularly, and take other precautions to prevent complications that could send them to the hospital. To help patients stay on track with daily preventive care, doctors can do things like:

• text patients reminders to test their blood glucose level or take prescribed medications
• email materials to patients that explain the different factors that cause blood sugar to rise and fall
• send patients information on foods to eat and avoid
• share weekly exercise and healthy living tips

These are just a few examples of how you can educate patients and encourage them to take specific actions. Each of these can be done through your automated notification system.

Of course, regular office visits and screenings are another important part of preventive care. You can also set patients to receive automatic notifications when they are due for routine tests or screenings. A simple text message can alert patients that they need to call or go online to schedule an appointment.

Appointment Reminders
To keep patients with chronic diseases from lapsing into acute conditions, regular office visits, tests, and screenings are essential. It is recommended that patients with diabetes see their physician at least twice per year for blood pressure checks, foot checks, weight checks, and other screenings. These visits also provide opportunities to review care plans. When patients miss these checkups it is harder to monitor and manage their health.

You can help make sure your patients are aware of their scheduled appointments — and encourage them to show up — by sending out automatic reminders a few days in advance. Setting up reminders is as easy as running a report of your upcoming appointments. Then you can use your notifications system to assign text messages, emails, or automated phone messages to be delivered to patients.

Follow-Up Communication
Sometimes information that seems clear in person during an office visit can feel more confusing to patients when they get home. If patients don’t understand their conditions or the care instructions given to them, they can’t do a very good job of managing their health. By following up with patients after each visit and reiterating the details of prescribed treatments, you can minimize confusion and errors.

There are a lot of details that diabetic patients need to retain if they are prescribed medication or insulin pump therapy. For example, knowing how to store insulin properly to maintain effectiveness is important. So is understanding how to adjust insulin dosages throughout the day. Verify that patients understand medication instructions by sending follow-up emails that restate pertinent information. Patients shouldn’t walk out of your office and be on their own. Send them notices about side effects or warning signs that are serious and should prompt a return visit. Put your notification technology to use to check in with patients between visits. This way you can support a patient from afar as you train them to manage their own health.

Ongoing Support And Motivation
We know that even when patients understand instructions they don’t always follow advice from their doctor. It is frustrating, but something that physicians need to acknowledge. For whatever reason, most patients need an extra nudge every now and then to convince them to do the things that are good for their health. Especially when those things involve behavior change or breaking long-time habits.

As mentioned earlier, adopting healthy eating habits, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight are all essential for diabetes management. But these behaviors can be difficult for people to implement. You can help patients overcome struggles by setting weight management goals during office visits and then periodically sending messages to remind them of those goals, encourage them, and offer support.

According to a TeleVox study, nearly 40 percent of patients say they would follow doctors’ orders if they got some kind of reminder or nudge from those doctors between office visits. This indicates patients want to feel supported and encouraged by their doctors. Because patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions are at such a high risk for complications and hospitalizations, every effort, text, or email that pushes patients toward healthier behaviors is valuable.

Your automated notification system can be a powerful tool for training patients to better self-manage their chronic conditions. If you have this technology in place, consider using it for patient outreach. It will improve the quality of care you provide and positively impact patient health.

About the Author
Allison Hart is a regularly-published advocate for utilizing technology-enabled communications to engage and activate patients. She also leads TeleVox’s Healthy World initiative, a research program that leverages ethnographic data to uncover, understand, and interpret both patient and provider points of view on encouraging healthy behaviors for better results. Healthy World promotes the idea that touching the hearts and minds of patients by engaging with them between healthcare appointments will encourage and inspire them to follow and embrace treatment plans — and that activating these positive behaviors leads to healthier lives. Hart currently serves as Vice President of Marketing for TeleVox (www.televox.com), a part of West Corporation (www.west.com), where the healthcare mission is to help organizations harness communications to expand the boundaries of where, when, and how healthcare is delivered.