Press Release
RALEIGH, NC, March 6, 2018—TeleHealth Services, the nation’s leading provider of interactive patient engagement solutions, and Healthwise are combining the power of microlearning content and the industry’s first and only patient engagement and education system driven by responsive artificial intelligence.
iCare Navigator was recently launched as the industry’s first enterprise-scale interactive patient engagement platform using adaptive and empathetic avatars as virtual personal health coaches.
Healthwise, which develops patient education to help people make better health decisions and take a more active role in their health, is working with TeleHealth Services to integrate microlearning education content, including audio discussion scripts and videos, with iCare Navigator’s virtual health coaches. Microlearning is an emerging strategy for teaching and learning, providing educational content in small, very specific bursts of information. Instead of 10-plus minute videos in many conventional patient engagement and education systems, microlearning content is broken into 30-second to two minute segments. TeleHealth Services is showcasing this new learning technology using Healthwise content at the HIMSS 2018 health information and technology conference in Exhibit Booth 5526.
Empathetic virtual health coaches support the clinical team by guiding patients through health education plans, relaxation therapy and support services, and help expedite patient in-room requests that factor into improving patient satisfaction. Encouragement is built-in with gamification strategies that reward progress in the patient’s care plan. A personal care network also connects family members to motivate patients in adopting healthier behaviors.
“This changes the game in patient engagement and education, bringing a very personalized delivery of healthcare information that combines audio, video and imagery to make a personalized relationship between our virtual health coach and patients,” said Richard Bootes, vice president of product development at TeleHealth Services who has designed bedside patient education systems for more than two decades.
Patient engagement and education are critical components of preventing hospital readmissions but there are inherent challenges to educating patients and families in the hospital when they are naturally filled with anxiety. Combining modern microlearning strategies with artificial intelligence and avatars to dynamically determine when and how to best deliver information is a leap forward for the industry.
“Learning becomes more of a conversation. It is a very compassionate approach that will improve retention, reduce readmissions and foster long-term positive health results through behavioral change,” Bootes said. “Healthwise is an ideal partner to bring this ground-breaking approach to hospitals, patients and their families.”
“We are excited that Healthwise® Content as a Service makes it possible for our education to be used to create microlearning interactions for virtual health coaches and artificial intelligence to truly engage patients in learning what they need to do, how they should do it, and why they should do it,” said Dave Mink, chief client officer at Healthwise. “When we can anticipate and target specific problem areas, patients have a big advantage toward achieving a better outcome.”
“Hospitals embrace patient education to help patients better manage their own care,” said Dan Nathan, president of TeleHealth Services.“ Automating the education process streamlines clinical workflows while addressing key compliance factors,” Nathan added. “The system’s built-in comprehension assessments determine when teach-back strategies are needed and real-time analytical data is generated for clinical quality performance measurements.”
Viewed on in-room patient televisions and/or tablets, iCare Navigator is cloud-based and easily deployed within a health system’s existing network infrastructure. Condition-specific patient education is automatically documented in the electronic medical record and can be accessed post-discharge to further reinforce adherence to medications and follow-up care plans.
Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. People have turned to Healthwise information more than 2 billion times to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say “no” to the care they don’t need. Healthwise partners with hospitals, electronic medical record (EMR) providers, health plans, care management companies, and health websites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve. www.healthwise.org. 1.800.706.9646
TeleHealth Services is driven to enhance the patient experience and positively impact health outcomes across the continuum of care using innovative patient engagement and audiovisual technologies. With 60 years of patient-centered expertise and 2,500+ healthcare clients, the company designs and delivers turnkey solutions that increase patient satisfaction, improve quality of care, and maximize clinical and operational efficiencies. TeleHealth recently introduced the first and only interactive patient engagement and education system driven by artificial intelligence.
TeleHealth is a division of Telerent Leasing Corporation. TLC creates unparalleled customer experiences in the use of collaborative communication solutions serving the healthcare market through TeleHealth Services; the corporate market through Avidex Industries; and the public and education markets through Digital Networks Group. TLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITOCHU International Inc. For more information about TeleHealth Services, please visit www.telehealth.com.