Healthcare Goes Digital as Patient Adherence is Boosted by Information Technologies

Tuesday 8 January 2013, Amsterdam

Rising healthcare costs and phenomenal waste in the US healthcare system is forcing health services and industry players to re-think how care is delivered, states a new report by healthcare experts.

The new report, "Patient Adherence, Communication and Engagement (PACE) - Increased Investment and Adoption of New Digital Tools Enable Key Stakeholder Collaborations and Encourage Compliance", states that healthcare information technologies are being embraced as a way to engage patients and increase efficiency in the healthcare system, in a bid to counteract the huge costs imposed by chronic diseases.

National expenditure on healthcare in the US has surpassed 17% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with an aging population and changing lifestyles reflecting a growing prevalence of chronic diseases. Chronic disease healthcare costs dominate national medical expenditure, primarily due to complications resulting from patient non-adherence to treatment and medication regimens. Non-adherence is a major cause of waste in healthcare systems across the world among chronic disease patients.

Non-adherence to medication negatively affects the patient as well as the industry: the patient faces less effective treatment and increased risks of hospitalization, while struggling healthcare systems face pressure to improve patient outcomes and control costs, and the pharmaceutical industry suffers from lower prescription sales and less evidence demonstrating a drug's efficacy profile.

The engagement of patients in their own healthcare empowers them to make meaningful choices, and hence healthcare industry reforms in the US emphasize two central tenets of patient access and engagement, and coordinated care. Information and communication technologies are playing a significant role in this.

Federal stimulus is driving investments in Healthcare Information Technology (HIT), making huge amounts of data open to access, enabling data sharing and coordination in care delivery. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has mandated technology adoption by the healthcare providers, with innovation grants, incentives and penalties offered by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Rapidly increasing cost burden is also forcing US health insurance providers to leverage technology and collaborations, driving the industry towards better patient engagement.