With consumer attitudes to health technology softening, we’re about to see a step change in the way healthcare is delivered. While this will bring significant benefits for workplace health and wellbeing, there are several challenges to overcome first.
The key catalyst for this change was the pandemic. With lockdown putting traditional face-to-face healthcare out of reach, consumers were forced to turn to telemedicine services such as digital GP and online counselling for their health concerns.
Going digital
Although telemedicine has been around for almost a decade, these services were initially met with cynicism and a flurry of bad press, according to Aon principal, health and risk Mark Witte. “All the initial concerns have gone now,” he says. “It’s never going to be the right thing in every situation but consumers love the convenience it brings. Instead of taking a half day to see their GP, they can get everything done in just six minutes. This also fits well with the shift in working patterns.”
As a result, insurers are reporting huge increases in usage. Vitality, which provides its digital GP through Livi, has seen growth of 80 per cent year on year, while Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey 2022, also points to increased take-up across organisations. It found that 75 per cent of employers now offer access to digital GP services, with 52 per cent funding this service for all staff – up from 40 per cent the previous year.
There’s also been a shift in the medical profession’s perception of these services. Dr Peter Mills, European medical director at Cigna Europe, is a specialist in respiratory medicine, working one day a week at the Whittington Hospital. “The medical profession hasn’t embraced technology in the same way as other industries but, over the pandemic, there was a realisation that it offered convenience,” he says. “Half the people who come to see me don’t actually need to see me: their appointments could be carried out over the phone or video.”
Telemedicine 2.0
With both consumers and healthcare practitioners comfortable with digital healthcare, the services available on this platform are growing rapidly. Already a broader range of mental health services are available, giving access to support such as counselling, CBT and mindfulness. The growth of musculoskeletal issues as a result of home working have made digital physiotherapy a must-have.
Dr Mills says that physiotherapy is really well suited to the digital environment. “An employee can be provided with some sensors that will help a physiotherapist check over a video call whether they’re doing the exercises correctly and then allow them to maintain good form,” he says. “In some instances, it can be much more effective than a traditional face-to-face appointment.”
The digital platform is also enabling employers to tackle other aspects of employee health and wellbeing. As more employees find themselves taking on caring responsibilities for elderly relatives, telemedicine can help with monitoring services. These provide the employee with reassurance while also enabling the elderly relative to continue living independently.
Providing equipment such as sensors also opens the door to further innovation. As an example, Dr Anushka Patchava, deputy chief medical officer at Vitality, points to TytoCare which provides a kit to enable all sorts of medical examinations to be undertaken. “By using these phone plug-ins a doctor can take a patient’s temperature, listen to their heart and lungs and examine their ears or throat,” she says. “This type of innovation drives telemedicine into the secondary care space. We’re looking at how much we can take out of the hospitals and put into the home.”
Connected home devices such as voice assistants and smart mirrors could also become part of this ecosystem, collecting health information such as temperature or voice stress levels to enable a more rounded picture of someone’s health.
Data science
Alongside the health data that can be collected through these examinations, there is a mine of other information that is valuable to healthcare practitioners. Wearables such as Fitbits and Apple Watch collect much more than steps now, including details on sleep patterns, blood oxygen levels and even ECG readings. It’s also possible to share health information from a GP with a private doctor.
Mike Downing, chief technology officer at WPA, says data sharing can make services more efficient but also more intuitive. “Sharing data between the NHS and private sector delivers a better journey for the patient but if you can also bring in data from wearables, for instance, it gives further insight. Knowing that someone isn’t getting enough sleep every night can inform the medical opinion,” he explains.
As the data gets broader and more detailed, it also helps to push healthcare more towards prevention. Data monitoring can identify any potential warning signals such as a spike in blood sugar levels or changes in heart rate or blood pressure while the delivery of health information and advice can be tailored to the individual, making it more engaging.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has a valuable role to play in data-driven healthcare. As well as using it to spot patterns and anomalies, it can power symptom checkers to triage individuals to the most appropriate healthcare, whether that’s information, an app or a GP consultation.
It can also play a part in driving behavioural change through the application of nudge theory. “Human behaviour is complex but by using AI to understand an individual’s health status and what motivates them, you can create products and solutions that will nudge them towards prevention,” explains Dr Mills.
This focus on prevention is also leading to the growth of digital therapeutic apps according to Dr Patchava. As an example, she points to Wysa, a mental health app that blends AI guided listening with professional support to help users manage stressors. “It’s anonymous and uses a chatbot to help users understand what’s troubling them in a completely non-judgemental way,” she says.
Adoption challenges
The pandemic may have accelerated our journey towards more prevention and ultimately prediction in healthcare, but there are still some challenges to overcome. Witte says that the sheer amount of innovation in this space could cause confusion. “With so many companies with a healthcare offering, it’s hard to choose what’s right,” he explains. “Add to that the fact that all this healthcare innovation isn’t connected and it can be really bewildering, especially in the moments that matter. How does an employee experiencing a health problem know where to turn?”
As a starting point, he recommends that consultants audit an organisation’s healthcare provision, to ensure it’s comprehensive. “It’s even better if it can be integrated,” he adds. “Insurers are beginning to bring everything together within one app but it also needs to connect to the medical insurance and other benefits.”
Data is the other obstacle. Although consumers are more comfortable using telemedicine, Dr Patchava says there are still issues around data fluidity. “Who owns and who can share the data is a concern. People are much more averse to having their healthcare data shared than their financial data,” she says.
But she believes the experiences of the banking sector will help when it comes health. “It will be the consumer that drives greater sharing of health data,” she adds. “We need to raise awareness of the benefits and bring them on this journey.”