The annual cost of disparities in health care in the United States is staggering in both human and economic terms:

JAMA estimates 74,000 deaths yearly among Black Americans and Kaiser Foundation Research estimates approximately $93 billion in excess medical care costs and $42 billion in lost productivity per year. To fulfill the promise of true equality, reduce suffering and improve the quality of care, we must transform our healthcare system by driving health equity awareness and improvements.

Creating Equity is in Our DNA Since our Studio’s Founding in 2018

Mytonomy is changing how healthcare systems communicate and educate patients of all different backgrounds. According to Mytonomy CEO and Co-founder Anjali Kataria, health equity has been a significant focus for the company since its inception. Kataria explains, "We believe that how we communicate with patients must be inclusive and relevant to all patient groups. Our technology is designed to deliver the highest possible patient engagement rates, including reaching some of the country’s most historically underserved and underrepresented populations."

Mytonomy Opens Spanish Clinical Studio

We established a Spanish clinical studio to expand our commitment to delivering diverse patient content. Native-speaking Spanish writers, producers, editors, and translators comprise our Spanish studio so we can make even more of our library accessible to Spanish speakers.

Mytonomy features a diverse range of clinicians and actors in our materials. Patients appreciate seeing people that look like themselves. Our equity and inclusion efforts don’t end there. Our largest content area, cardiometabolic conditions, with over 400 videos, reflects insights gained from asking different racial and ethnic groups about their attitudes toward blood sugar and healthy eating.

According to Mytonomy Medical Director Dr. Seema Kumar, “The result is highly-relatable content that doesn’t merely focus on what not to do but provides insights into how you can best manage your self care and be informed as you make your healthcare decisions. Our content is uplifting in that it meets patients where they are and provides a positive way forward.”

To see what we mean, watch our series of healthy eating videos for patients living with diabetes, including Diabetes and a Traditional Indian Diet, Diabetes and a Mexican Diet, Diabetes and a Puerto Rican Diet, and Diabetes and a Southern Soul Food Diet.

Representation is Critical

We are proud of the outcomes achieved with our cardiometabolic content. In an IRB study with Duke Health, Medstar Georgetown, and Columbia University Medical Center, the findings showed improvement in HBA1C, increased patient activation, and reduced patient anxiety. Notably, Black patients watched Mytonomy’s microlearning videos at the double the rate of their non-Hispanic white patient counterparts, showing the power of our platform to reach different groups. Hispanic patients also performed higher than non-Hispanic white participants.

Creating Health Equity Takes Everyone

It’s a team effort promoting health equity and decreasing health disparities, requiring intentional partnerships to identify vulnerable populations, mitigate barriers, and promote access and inclusion. It’s the only way to achieve better health outcomes and patient safety.

The challenge remains complex and will require a holistic solution. Mytonomy’s approach to content creation aligns with The Joint Commission’s (TJC) recommendations for supporting patients’ ability to understand and act on health information, as outlined in their resource titled Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient- and Family-Centered Care: A Roadmap for Hospitals. This resource - highlighting adequate safety, quality, and equity initiatives - helps us follow best practices.

We take the time to assess patient learning needs early in care, speak plain language, including patient stories, and use visual models, pictures, and diagrams to illustrate conditions and procedures. We connect with patients in a language they can understand and comprehend so they can actively participate in an informed decision-making process for their health.

We support any language via subtitling or dubbing our videos, and we can localize our platform to any language desired. We established a Spanish clinical studio as an expansion of our commitment to delivering diverse patient education. Native-speaking Spanish writers, producers, editors and translators comprise the Spanish studio to ensure education is even more accessible to Spanish speakers. Patients love how diverse and relatable our content is.

Going Forward

Mytonomy is continually investing in new approaches to leverage Health Information Technology (HIT) to advance health equity and reduce disparities in outcomes among diverse groups. We are currently collaborating with healthcare systems and a leading diagnostics company to test a cancer screening shared decision-making module. This program educates patients about the importance of screening and the range of options, including at-home screenings. By integrating with Electronic Health Records (EHR), this module can help us target specific patient populations at risk or otherwise eligible for screening.

Our culturally inclusive, digital approach has been proven to activate patients as decision-makers in their care, including those in historically underserved groups. With our HIT-driven shared-decision making module, Mytonomy will be able to reach patients that have traditionally faced barriers to accessing in-person cancer screening.

We are committed to researching new ways our platform can better serve diverse and underrepresented populations. Mytonomy recently conducted extensive primary research into Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), particularly food insecurity’s role in the healthcare ecosystem. We will continue to inform the development of our solution with our unique understanding of how we can reach diverse populations more effectively, on their terms, via tailored, respectful, and inclusive approaches.