Take Ownership of Your Health with Technology
Daniel Benner February 11, 2011
Today there are many companies building tools to better manage health. One can enter daily calorie count on a mobile app, access healthcare maps and information through a variety of websites and join like-minded health communities. Even with all those options there’s still a missing ingredient in today’s online consumer healthcare experiences: engagement.
Here at Ascendant, we want consumers at the center of designing their own healthcare outcomes. It sounds funny to say this, but like the 70’s hit show “The Six Million Dollar Man” premise, we have the technology, data, and knowledge to save the consumer from themselves. The good news is that it won’t cost six million dollars per person. The better news is that it will end up saving employers, providers, insurers, and customers billions of dollars.
I need to toot our own horn a bit but you’ll see why. Ascendant was recently recognized for its work in the healthcare industry. We received both the IBM Lotus Award for Exceptional Web Experience and the Industry Solution award for our innovative solutions with our healthcare clients - but we aren’t resting on our laurels. We’re moving forward by attending the HIMSS Conference to share our thoughts on the future of healthcare experience.
At HIMSS we’ll present our vision that we call Generation Next or GenNext for short. GenNext connects patients and providers in a way that will motivate, drive, and provide incentives for behavioral changes when making healthcare choices. Like the old saying from Albert Einstein, “doing the same thing and expecting a different result is insanity.” That’s why we believe changing behavior through engagement is the key to better preventative and chronic care outcomes.
Through our solution individuals will be able to take more ownership of their health by accessing their health records, participating in the setting and tracking of goals, and the ability to participate in a system that awards healthy behaviors. In addition, users will be encouraged to face the hard truth, through future health simulations based on data. Knowing that a certain behavior is unhealthy is not enough, knowing that it affects not just your health, but your lifestyle, your family, and others counting on you can be a radical, but desperately needed tipping point. Another aim of the platform is to engage individuals who are managing their health well - to be role models and mentors focused on creating a healthier community, as well as be rewarded for these wellness behaviors by receiving discounts or rewards with participating partners.
The social elements of GenNext let users create challenges in groups with other people. One person reaching out and helping another person is proven to be much more effective in motivating change than orders from a professional or directives from on high.
Individuals aren’t the only ones who will benefit from engagement. Providers will realize their goals as well, by helping to catalyze a sea change in health management with a real focus on outcomes driven by consumers and by capitalizing on opportunities for shared revenue streams through partner and affiliate programs. With GenNext - everyone is engaged; it really is a win-win opportunity.
The key benefit of GenNext is that individuals become partners in their well being and health. By connecting professionals, communities, family, and friends our platform provides a way to effectively collaborate and realize brand new commerce opportunities to promote healthly lifestyle choices everyday. We’re excited to share this vision of a future healthcare platform with you at HIMMS.
