The state of Mobile Healthcare Communications: notes from the BDI/PRN Summit 2013

Mobile Healthcare Communications Summit

Presented by the BusinessDevelopment Institute and PR Newswire, February 14, 2013

David Blair, Head of Industry for Health, Google: From point of care to care everywhere

Key drivers of healthcare change:

§  Velocity - pace of change

§  Moments - key moments that matter

§  Context - platform-agnostic

Velocity

Screens – phone, tablets, PCs, televisions – are driving internet traffic:

§  In 2009, 1% of Internet traffic originated from mobile

§  In 2012, 13% of Internet traffic originated from mobile

In addition, there is a proliferation of devices blurring the lines between devices, e.g., the phablet – combination of phone and tablet

Consumer activities are now based on multiscreen usage and multitasking across devices

§  Sequential usage - start on one device, complete actions on another

§  Simultaneous usage

o   The usage could be either multi-tasking or complementary device usage for a single purpose

o   Daily consumer usage averages 11 hours, 2/3 of which is done simultaneously on multiple devices

This is resulting in a merging of physical and digital lives, e.g., Google glass

In 2007, there were no mobile health apps; in 2012, there were 44 million downloads, such as PingMD, which is intended to facilitate doctor-patient interaction

Moments:

Digital health begins with search: 77% online health seekers begin with search.  Of those:

§  13% begin with specialized sites

§  2% begin with general sites

§  1% begin social media

There were 7 billion mobile health searches at Google in 2012

Context:

Where are you?  What time is it?  What device are you using?

Intent + context + relevance = right solution

Are you winning the moments that matter?

§  Are you discoverable? Can you be found by patients/health care providers on all devices?

§  What is the experience like? Does it lead to the logical next step?

§  Are you delivering the right solution for each context/device?

Healthcare industry has a long way to go: Only 40% of Google clients' sites are mobile-optimized

§  Example: Epiduo developed a personalized acne tracker

o   Acne treatment has low value to dermatologist but big value to patient

o   Developed app to deliver high-value info to patients – progressive improvement in acne condition – at low cost

Liquid content

§  Information has to show up on every device and look appropriate

§  Therefore, it must be designed for 4 screens

Summary: Email, search, and health - top 3 online activities

Closing quote: “Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them.” Alfred North Whitehead


Todd Kolm, Director, Emerging Channel Strategy, Pfizer: Using Mobile to Build Relevance and Engagement with Consumers and Patients

Penetration and usage of mobile phones:

§  There are more mobile phones than people.

§  In 2011, there were 250 billion mobile searches

§  Phones are becoming more advanced: Smartphone penetration has now reached 50%

§  Healthcare is a major usage: 25% of U.S. smartphone users visit a health information website

Pfizer initiatives

Had 200% growth in mobile visitors to primary care consumer-facing brand web sites

But the sites were not mobile-optimized

Question: How to bring the core values of Pfizer brand websites to mobile users?

Pillars of mobile experience:

§  Immediacy

§  Simplicity

§  Context

Decision was made to create a centralized mobile platform:

§  Common starting line

§  Economies of scale

§  Speed to market

§  Focus on highest usage mobile devices

§  Consistency of user experience, regulatory approach, KPI framework

Result: Pfizer built 10 mobile sites in 4 months

Preliminary learnings:

§  Mobile engagement patterns different from pre-optimized web sites

§  Mobile engagement was also different from desktop engagement re: time spent on site, activity type, and site depth

o   Mobile-optimized site visits had less time spent, indicating very specific needs

§  Result: Growth in traffic and engagement vs. pre-optimized sites and desktop web traffic

§  Results were achieved despite no social engagement from website or other sources

Erin Bryne, EVP, Managing Partner, Chief Engagement Officer, ghg: Learn about broad and integrated mobile opportunities to drive patient health outcomes

Doctor-patient communications are becoming more complex

Therefore, the traditional roles of healthcare brands and physicians have to change

Doctors are categorizing patients by behavior, e.g., the Scrutinizer or Mobile me

Context and location are important – includes privacy element

Healthcare participants must shift their focus from products to healthcare outcomes

§  Only 25% of patients are satisfied with their healthcare experience

§  Only 10% feel that their healthcare is excellent

Healthcare brands can learn from consumer brands, such as by following the Forrester model:

§  Start with patient needs

§  Make it easy

§  Make it enjoyable

o   For healthcare providers, improve the experience to improve outcomes

o   For professionals, drive consistency across all touch points

§  Mobile devices can be the remote control for managing the healthcare experience

Take advantage of the mobile environment:

§  What are consumers doing on their mobile devices?

§  72% of physicians have smartphones. Also, they exhibit multiscreen behavior

Thoughts for engaging to drive healthier outcomes:

§  Implement responsive design to deliver the right experience

§  Mobile provides more privacy – a counter-intuitive concept

§  Leverage learnings from traditional online advertising to drive mobile traffic

o   Mobile is already 16% of all digital ad spending in 2013

§  Create assets that drive professional and patient dialogue

o   Provide mobile information to be discussed with the patient or emailed to the patient

o   Don't forget about SMS, which is often not considered as annoying as email

o   Need to view all means of mobile communication as integrated traffic drivers

Key questions:

§  What are your users' needs and how can you add value to them?

§  How does mobile support your larger digital and marketing strategy?

§  Are you delivering on the promise of a customer experience that can drive health outcomes?

Joe Shields, former Global Strategic Marketing & New Product Development, Lifescan, a Johnson & Johnson Company: Ready for Healthcare Anywhere?

[Note: Joe’s complete presentation is available here.]

What does it mean to be born mobile?

Eric Topol - evangelist of mobile health: “The smartphone will be the hub of the future of medicine, … and your health-medical dashboard.”

Why? Why now? Because of convergence:

Currently, healthcare is delivered in two places - doctor's office and hospital

§  Key attributes:

o   Periodic measurement

o   Treatment of disease

o   Opaque

o   Providers have control

§  Constitutes healthcare with borders

The new healthcare context: connected health – healthcare without borders

§  Cost containment

§  Empowered patients

§  Outcomes-driven

§  Technology-enabled

§  Ubiquitous connectivity

Mobile doesn't just describe devices, it describes people

Healthcare anywhere creates a 3rd place: the Patient, where the care is patient-centered.  Attributes:

§  Continuous monitoring

§  Prevention, behavior modification

§  Transparency

§  Patients have control

For healthcare without boundaries:

§  New players will emerge

§  Existing players will be threatened, e.g., apps to stop smoking could replace Chantix

Implications for us - trends impacting your business and your career:

§  Convergence of communications and care delivery

§  Expectation of continuous improvement

The customer experience must be retooled to meet new requirements of mobile customers

“Mobile engagement empowers people to take the next most likely action in their moment of need” – Forrester

Mobile engagement:

§  Physical context plus digital intelligence

§  Proactive service

§  Task-oriented action buttons

§  App-Internet combination

Tech trends:

§  Fewer devices, all multi-function

§  Platform agnostic

§  Comfort with the cloud

§  Consumerization of IT in the workplace

Capabilities shift:

§  Medical devices embedded in smartphone

§  Cost therefore shifted to consumer

§  Easier to update since software, but issues:

o   Visualization

o   Connectivity

o   Memory

o   Processing

o   Battery life

o   Integration

§  Also what are the regulatory implications?

Catalysts:

§  Customer demand

§  Cheap tech, including smartphones

§  Non-traditional players

§  Startups

Inhibitors:

§  Data privacy and security

§  Regulatory confusion

§  Outcomes data

§  Standardization/integration

§  Reimbursement

§  Much of the problem due to lack of analytics

What's next:

§  Tablets will probably be more important than smartphones

§  Pharma moving into digital health

§  More clarity on success criteria and process for outcomes and efficacy

§  Reimbursement trickles in

§  Regulatory hurdles lowered

The pace of innovation of consumer electronics is colliding with the slower pace of medical/pharma

Blurring of medical devices and fitness devices, which have no medical vetting and are not necessarily based on science

What is the role of MNOs, mobile network operators?

§  Depends on their business model and strategy.

§  They have knowledge of customers but what about liability?

Mobile allows people to manage conditions more discreetly, allows more normal life, minimizes impact, allows invisibility

Peter Gannon, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Partnerships & Kenn Louis, Senior Product Developer, Within3: How to choose the right platform to meet your business objectives - Ensuring healthcare provider engagement through accessibility

[Note: the Within3 presentation is available here.]

Content that is digital and social must be mobile

What is multi-device engagement?

§  10 years ago, with desktops and laptops, the issue was browser compatibility

§  Now, there are multiple devices, which themselves have different input devices

Opportunity: Physicians with 3 screens spend more time online during the workday than physicians with one or two screens.

Ingredients for multi-device engagement

§  Triggers

§  Cloud computing - allows switching among devices

§  Support for multiple screen sizes

§  Security

Delivery options:

§  Mobile apps configured for specific devices

§  Responsive web design crafted for multiple devices

Comparison and recommendations:

§  Apps – as a mobile-only product, can provide desired outcomes conducive to mobile

§  RWD

o   Can be inclusive of all product features since not limited to mobile

o   Provides instant speed to market

§  Both

o   Enable device switching

o   Can be used to trigger activity

Brendan Kelly, Manager, Cancer.net Operations, American Society of Clinical Oncology: Cancer.net Mobile: Helping Patients Take an Active Role in Their Cancer Care.

[Note: Brendan’s presentation is available here.]

Objectives: Increase accessibility of accurate and credible cancer information

Patient needs – reliable information, accessibility, practical tools

Objectives – be more than a mobile website

§  Cancer.net's best content

§  Intuitive new interface

§  Oncologist-driven features

Patient challenges

§  Accessible information

§  Tracking medications

§  Recalling symptoms

§  Getting questions answered

iPhone app was launched in April 2011 with Android launched in April 2012 – more than 35,000 downloads since launches

Cancer.Net Mobile 2.0 – improvements

§  On-the-fly content updates

§  Passcode lock

§  Rating reminder

§  iCloud backup

§  More robust user analytics

Panel Discussion and Q&A

Participants:

§  James Chase, Editor-in-Chief, Medical Marketing & Media: moderator

§  David Blair, Head of Industry for Health, Google

§  Brendan Kelly, Manager, Cancer.net Operations, American Society of Clinical Oncology

§  Todd Kolm, Director, Emerging Channel Strategy, Pfizer

§  Lynn O’Connor Vos, CEO, ghg

§  Joe Shields, former Global Strategic Marketing & New Product Development, Lifescan, a Johnson & Johnson Company

Q: What's changed in the last year?

Joe: there has been a shift from tech-focus to focus on the patient. The healthcare provider also needs to provide mobility in their care.

Todd: Mobile has changed from a question mark to an exclamation point. Also, there is now an emphasis on speed to market.

Lynn: Mobile will eventually drive most patient communication with doctors and providers.

Brendan: There has been a repackaging of consumer information. The advance of responsive web design was important in that development.

David: Velocity has increased.  It has changed Google products – now keywords go everywhere.  Video has also become more important – there are 72 hours of video uploaded onto YouTube every minute.

Q: What has been a standout recent mobile effort?

Joe: Nothing.

Todd: The MIT tuberculosis effort in developing countries: their device generates a daily test strip, and patient compliance then generated free cellphone minutes.  Compliance rates increased significantly.

Lynn: The Text4baby SMS program to improve prenatal health care effectively and cost-efficiently.

Brendan: The immediacy of information contained in electronic health records.

David: Uber, which provides just-in-time filling of unused doctor appointment inventory.

Q: How will healthcare continue to change?

Lynn: Mobile and healthcare are inherently local.  Healthcare is now in the customer service business.  It has developed cures for most diseases; now communications with patients is the challenge. Communications is also the cure.

Joe: Major challenge: it will be difficult for pharma to shift from providing products to providing service.