Execs Discuss How Pandemic Shaped Consumer Engagement

by Leslie Small

During a panel discussion moderated by AIS Health at the World Health Care Congress Virtual conference, executives shared how the COVID-19 pandemic forced their organizations to rethink consumer engagement.

Voice Assistant Skills:

• "What we want to do, especially during COVID, is make health care easier to navigate," said Anthem Chief Clinical Officer Anthony Nguyen, M.D.
• He said Anthem is currently deploying voice assistant skills for providers as an "all-payer solution" that works on systems such as Alexa, Siri or Google Home and is able to translate multiple languages.

Pharmacists' Role:

• Wholesale drug distribution company AmerisourceBergen Corp. marshaled its forces to help the many pharmacies it works with respond to the pandemic in ways that significantly elevated their value to the health care ecosystem, said Rich Tremonte, executive vice president and president of community and specialty pharmacy at AmerisourceBergen.
• He added he hopes that the outsized role pharmacists played during the pandemic will permanently alter their status beyond simply "transactional" interactions with customers.

A Focus on Well-Being:

• Fitbit Health Solutions made its premium service — which provides "additional guidance and support" across the four foundational behaviors of activity, nutrition, sleep and stress management — free for three months so everyone could access it.
• Fitbit also augmented its services to include more at-home workouts and "leaned in really heavily on stress and mindfulness," according to its Medical Director John Moore, M.D., Ph.D.

Remote Health Monitoring:

• Novant Health, an integrated health care system that serves the Southeastern U.S., found that investments it was already making in technology became crucial when the pandemic shut down many in-person care options, said Angela Yochem, executive vice president and chief transformation and digital officer.
• During the height of the pandemic, the health system relied heavily on virtual visits "enhanced by devices and apps that can load vitals, temperature, lung function, heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, as well as images — inner ear, throat, skin and the like," Yochem said.

From Health Plan Weekly