How data analytics and digital strategies accelerate health equity

Enabling more inclusive health care experiences that improve outcomes and build value

In brief

• Health organizations must deploy robust data analytics and digital strategies to close health equity gaps, meet consumer expectations and build value.
• Gaining deeper visibility into patient behaviors, the social drivers of health and other key areas is preferable over taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
• For life sciences companies, a consumer-centric approach to patient engagement drives commercial excellence.

As the rise of value-based care continues, organizations across the health ecosystem are increasingly focused on understanding the socioeconomic and other factors that impact health equity, especially among underserved groups. But to enable the equitable patient outcomes, access and experience they envision, health companies must first reimagine their operating models and processes to enable better collection and management of patient data. This approach can equip both life sciences and health care organizations with actionable insights into chronic disease progression, barriers to care and a host of other areas related to health equity. Investing in and deploying digital technologies and data analytics capabilities is one of the most effective ways for health companies to gain better visibility into patient population health, but most organizations have significant ground to cover before reaching maturity around health equity data analytics. This gap represents a missed opportunity to enhance both the organization and health outcomes among all its patient populations.

A strategic approach to health equity data analytics

For life sciences leaders who seek to utilize data and digital tools to enhance patient engagement and improve both patient experience and outcomes, there are three key actions to get started.

1. Develop a data analytics strategy designed for inclusive health care experiences.

Investing in advanced analytics, and leveraging diverse data sets and AI models, along with automation and other digital capabilities, is an essential part of determining what life sciences patients from underserved communities want and need, creating a more complete view of patients. In addition, insights gleaned from sales representatives’ interactions with health care providers offer deeper visibility into diverse patient behaviors and how companies can best leverage tech to orchestrate the delivery of care-related content based on priority, preference and other metrics. On the whole, this approach drives agility as underserved patients evolve and is essential to create the personalized experiences they now crave and expect.

2. Build sophisticated patient segmentation.

AI-powered, data-driven algorithms can be used to create, optimize and personalize targeting of specific segments of the patient population. For example, scarce patient data containing certain characteristics of interest, such as race or ethnicity, can be “trained” and used to identify other patients of the same race or ethnicity from a larger cohort using AI. In today’s consumer-driven environment, companies must understand and adapt to different patient personas, instead of employing a one-size-fits-all approach. This mindset can help them establish a complete view of specific patient needs, facilitating consumer base expansion and providing a customized, patient-centric offering.

3. Create an omnichannel patient-centric approach that addresses the socioeconomic profiles and population health profiles

Today’s consumers are owning their health care decisions and seeking information across various channels and sources. They also expect simplicity from their health care experiences, which is why reducing complexity and eliminating paper-based and manual processes are essential. Convenience is also paramount — consumer preferences around how and when to be contacted, and in what context, are critical to patient engagement. By leveraging consumer-centric omnichannel transformation strategies, companies can identify provider and patient preferences and needs, and then offer them anticipatory and relevant customer experiences through various channels and content.

Defining success metrics and leveraging automation to help benchmark execution effectiveness against those metrics, company leaders can also gain visibility across campaigns, channels, brands and portfolios into the success of provider and patient journeys and make data-driven adjustments where needed. This approach to continuous improvement against a change agenda is often referred to as a feedback loop. It also helps unite the entire organization around one enterprise goal: enhancing patient engagement. Ultimately, creating an omnichannel patient-centric approach accelerates internal omnichannel capabilities, providing inclusive, dynamic patient experiences that deliver the right content through the right channels.

This article includes contributions from Edwin Reyes, Senior, Business Consulting, Ernst & Young LLP.