Digital health: A day in the life of a healthy patient

In this audio presentation, Bain partner Chuck Farkas discusses how digital health technologies will affect the life of a healthy patient. 

Digital health won’t just transform the back office. It will change the daily lives of people throughout the healthcare system—from doctors, nurses and clinical investigators to patients, including both the seriously ill and the very healthy. 

Presentation transcript: A day in the life of a healthy patient

Slide 1. Digital health: Healthy patient

I’m Chuck Farkas. I’m a senior partner in Bain & Company’s Healthcare practice based in the Boston. And I’ve spent most of the last 32 years working on healthcare. Today, healthcare is faced with some extraordinary challenges, and I’d like to tell you a little bit about how digital health can change all of that.

Slide 2. A day in the life of a healthy patient

Digital health isn’t just a tool to manage chronically ill patients or to manage the workflow of a doctor in their office. Digital health can actually play a very prominent role in the life of a healthy patient. Let me walk you through a day in the life of Mr. Healthy. I’ll go through it at a rapid pace, but then I’ll come back and walk through each of the elements, one at a time. Mr. Healthy monitors himself. He keeps track of how many miles he runs, he keeps track of how well he sleeps, he really cares about every aspect of his life. He also worries about his relatives, and he uses digital tools to keep track of how his mother or his uncle or his father might be doing. He reviews his own health results when he goes to see the doctor, checking his lab tests and his cholesterol levels. And very often, he uses that to ask his doctors questions about the appropriate care. When he does need to talk to his doctors, he can quickly email them or get online and video chat. He also uses tools to remind him to take his medicine, because even though Mr. Healthy likes to think he takes care of that, he knows a little reminder here or there can be a good thing. He’s not shy about taking advantage of incentives from his healthcare provider to join a gym or participate in exercise programs. And he loads a number of apps on his mobile device that all link him to his network.

Slide 3. Self-monitoring

Self-monitoring isn’t just about blood pressure and weight and blood sugar levels. Mr. Healthy uses apps on his mobile device to track his sleeping patterns. To evaluate his stress level and to manage that, he uses it to keep track of the miles he walks and he runs and to adjust his diet to fit his activity level. Mr. Healthy uses a number of apps and digital tools to keep track of his health.

Slide 4. Remote management of relative’s healthcare

As Mr. Healthy’s mother has aged, he’s become more responsible for her care. So he uses remote monitoring devices to keep track of how she’s doing. He’s concerned about whether or not she takes her medicine, manages her weight and blood pressure. He’s able to do all of that remotely so that he doesn't have to worry. When he does have a concern, he’s able to reach out to her physician. He uses email, instant messaging and videoconferencing to talk about changes to her medication or her care that enables him to have more peace of mind.

Slide 5. Prescription adherence and compliance

Mr. Healthy also uses digital technology to manage his own health. He takes a medication that requires regular blood tests; he talks to his doctor frequently about the results of those tests and any other things he should be doing; and he uses a variety of apps to remind him about medications and his activities and his diet so that he stays healthy and doesn’t have to worry.

Slide 6. Receipt of payer incentive for healthy behavior

Mr. Healthy also looks for rewards for his healthy behavior. He takes advantage of his health insurer’s rewards for his physical activity. Things like this have always been available, but the online tools make it easier for Mr. Healthy to participate and give him access to a greater range of rewards and incentives and programs.

Slide 7. App-assisted self-assessment and education

Even someone healthy has the occasional health concern. And Mr. Healthy uses the digital tools to assess his situation to understand what his options might be to reach out to his doctor and to avoid rushing into a high-cost health setting for something that may not need that kind of attention.

Slide 8. By 2020, digital health will have cut costs and increased innovation

If you’d like to talk more about how digital health will affect your healthcare business, please contact me or any of my healthcare partners at Bain & Company.

Slide 9. Contact us