Blog Author David Bennett, Concept4 Account Director for the Health Sector.
David’s clients include The Royal College of Midwives, several UK NHS Trusts and other health support organisations.
Following on from Part 1, our insightful blog now considers how the digital revolution can play a part in “self care and choice” within the health sector.
The digital revolution is here to stay, but strangely the health sector seems to be taking it’s time to catch up in these well used and recognised channels of communication: knowledge sharing, discussions, networking, information provision, all available through the internet, social media and other on line platforms… the time for action is NOW! All these on line facilities can be used to help us with “self care and choice” to monitor and manage our symptoms, source and recommend appropriate people and places to tap into our health service.
It’s all here, at our fingertips to help us take care of our own general wellbeing – who wouldn’t want a healthier life and to help take the strain from certain NHS departments and other health resources to concentrate on what they do best.
How does the digital revolution help “self care and choice?”
Using portable computers (laptops/tablets/smartphones, etc) gives us the ability to continuously and remotely “self help” including monitoring our vital functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugars, weight, etc., as well as being able to signpost ourselves to find out more information regarding health issues and services.
The power of social media, has changed the way we communicate… who in this day and age would book a holiday without visiting Trip Advisor? Who would buy from Argos online without reading a customer review? We are now in a world of ‘consumer is king’ and listening to our peers online is very much how we conduct ourselves these days.
There are many benefits to be had by a simple click to share a situation with someone or offer advice to others, eg in a forum. However, we are also being overrun by information available on line; we need to be careful what and where we read (is the source reliable, eg NHS Choices, NHS Direct) and how we take action.
We need the ability to easily monitor and report our wellbeing, alerting our health provider to our progress and providing a true insight of our personal health. There are many health apps out there already, eg NHS Choices, providing the tools to empower us to better track, manage, and improve our health and well being. Through informed choices we can choose and access our services quickly, intelligently and cost-effectively.
We can be empowered to make informed decisions regarding our personal health and wellbeing, a pathway which we can agree with our own health professional.
The benefits this would provide include:
- Collectable and useful data identifying demographics of service users, this can then be used by health providers to report and communicate targeted messages to patients
- Easier communication and engagement between users and health professionals, having the ability to connect through online sources such as Skype, apps, forums, etc)
- Provision of specific dedicated support services available to the user – including personalised information
- Freeing up time for health professionals to concentrate on what they do best
- Sharing of experiences through feedback.
All this will provide more accurate and cost effective communications. This will lead to creating more time and finances needed to invest in the future of our health and educate/informing the public to be involved in their own health choices.
The digital age means we can take control of our own health and wellbeing!
Concept4 specialise in on and off line health engagement and communications.
Get in touch with us now to see how we can integrate effective digital communications into your marketing plans.
