We know from the product strategy of tech giants like Google that usage begets usage. In 2004, the world already used Google Search, so when Google rolled out a web-based email service, Gmail, it was easy to market the new product to its existing base.
Similarly, patient portals already have the mindshare of patients. Historically, the challenge for health systems has been getting users to log in; part of the “pushback” from consumers has been the lack of a killer use case and the (un) ease of use. Many health systems have invested in the past decade to improve their portal use, and we’re excited to contribute to the patient-provider digital relationship they’ve built.
Epic & MyChart are registered trademarks of Epic Systems Corporation.
The Mytonomy team can share that thousands of patients per week (who all have a health condition) at our Epic customers are logging into MyChart and doing what consumers do online when they are not sick: watch videos. This digital activity within MyChart brings patients back to the portal and could help health systems avoid penalties if they participate in CMS’s HRRP.
Mytonomy users are watching content in the areas that CMS is tracking as part of the program: CABG, Elective Knee, and Hip procedures, amongst others. While our usage data varies by condition, we’re thrilled to report that Medicare-eligible patients (users 65 years+) consume videos at high rates in some of these key CMS areas. Forty percent of our users are Medicare-eligible. Patient education that is consumed has a better chance of impacting behavior and potentially reducing penalties.
Engagement* Rates for Medicare Users by Select Conditions
- CABG - 81.64%
- Hip Replacement - 52.08%
- Knee Replacement - 51.14%
- Cardiac Catheterization - 30.69%
* % of users that log in and watch at least one video
With Knee Replacement patients watching over 30 minutes of expert video content, that’s like getting an extra doctor’s visit to have your questions answered. With Mytonomy embedded in MyChart, our customers on Epic’s EHR now have a killer use case to drive portal logins: online videos prescribed by a patient’s doctor based on rules, assigned automatically with no human involvement.
Health systems that get patients to log in to their portals repeatedly and do the same digital activity build habit-forming behaviors. Mytonomy shares this data with our partners. Health systems have access to aggregated and patient-level viewership (from only their system), and this viewership data set can be a valuable input to AI models.
As a patient, if I value the video content that advises me on my health condition, I’m more likely to be open to future innovations like ‘an always-on AI diagnostic chatbot’ that could allow a physician to expand the number of patients in their panel without working more hours. Health systems build trust with the end user by satisfying their health consumers’ information needs. With that trust comes the potential to unlock future AI experiences.
This may seem futuristic or a fantasy, but it is the vision of tech investor Vinod Khosla, as outlined in a recent interview. Complementing the belief that AI can expand the supply of physician time is the belief that patients need more monitoring and touchpoints, a point made by Investor Vineeta Aggarwala, MD at Andreesen-Horowitz, who makes the case for an “Always-On Triage” environment.
So, let’s imagine an AI-powered healthcare system with chatbots that can answer patients' questions accurately (enough). How do health systems onboard their patients to these new experiences if they haven’t already won the trust of their consumers to come to their portal for other reasons? What if consumers go elsewhere for their chatbot fix? In other words, if you haven’t built the equivalent of your brand’s “Google Search,” you can’t market your Gmail that easily.
To win the AI future, you need to invest in the algorithm present. Mytonomy uses algorithms to automatically assign trusted medical content without staff involvement, leading to thousands of minutes watched per week, effectively substituting digital activity for physician Q&A time. To learn more, contact us.
* Special thanks to my colleagues Ryan S. and Brendan H. for their feedback on this post. Ryan and Brendan both started their careers at Epic Systems and bring deep knowledge of EMR integration to our company.
