Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Technology
Sponsored Content Provided By UnitedHealthcare
This content was created by and paid for by an advertiser. The Crain's editorial department was not involved in the creation of this content.
December 18, 2020 09:44 AM

How health care providers can use technology to help improve patient care and their practices

Dr. Donna O’Shea, Chief Medical Officer of Population Health Management
UnitedHealthcare
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    woman speaking to doctor on laptop stock image

    With the COVID-19 pandemic creating some necessary constraints on how, when and where people access health care, digital health resources have emerged as a valuable bridge that can help keep health care providers and their patients connected. 

    In fact, one recent analysis estimated the digital health market will grow by 26% by 2025. That growth reflects the potential benefits of digital health technology, including its ability to facilitate more personalized conversations between patients and doctors based on near real-time data exchanged via connected health devices and health system software.

    As health care providers look for ways to expand patient services and grow their practices, leveraging digital health technologies is likely to become increasingly important. Here are three strategies health care professionals should consider during COVID-19 and beyond:   

    Integrate Virtual Care: The use of virtual care resources has surged more than 10-fold compared to 20191. For many patients, telehealth provides a more convenient way to connect with care providers about various health issues, ranging from routine care and urgent health concerns to ongoing chronic condition management and specialty services. To help make that possible for their practices, health care professionals may want to evaluate offering these services through their own virtual care platform or contracting with a third-party vendor. Creating a virtual care checklist for staff members may also be helpful as this practical tool can support a smoother experience for both patients and your staff. 

    It’s also important to keep in mind that investing in virtual care capabilities may support your practice’s progression through the continuum of value-based care and encourage success in risk-based contracts with health plans. By improving patient access to virtual care, it may help prevent disease, better identify and manage chronic conditions, improve satisfaction and curb costs – all important outcomes in any value-based care program.     

    Consider Recommending Wearables: Millions of Americans already rely on smartwatches and activity trackers to help monitor their daily activity and sleep patterns as well as support their efforts to improve their well-being. With wearables now part of our day-to-day lives, some people are also becoming comfortable using them as a resource to help manage chronic conditions by making more data-driven decisions about their care and daily habits. Continuous glucose monitors (CGM) are a great example. By transmitting data about glucose levels to the patient’s smartphone or other digital device in near real-time, patients and their care providers may be able to more easily identify relationships between eating, exercise and blood sugar that can be difficult to observe with only test strips and a glucose meter. Some health plans across the country are starting to provide CGMs at no additional cost to members as a digital therapeutic, making this technology more affordable for patients. 

    Wearables and remote patient monitoring initiatives may also make a difference in the management of heart failure. By leveraging blood pressure cuffs, scales and pulse oximeters to measure blood-oxygen levels, pulse rate and perfusion index, care providers may be able to identify potentially serious changes and more quickly intervene, helping to avert complications and possible hospitalizations. 

    Make Technology Part of Your Workflow: New digital platforms may have the ability to improve the workflow for health care providers, as well as enhance patient satisfaction by enabling more personalized, integrated and data-driven clinical recommendations. For instance, certain technology platforms that integrate directly into a physician’s existing electronic medical record platform may enable care providers to view prescription costs, potential gaps in care, eligibility and patient health history in near real-time and potentially obtain prior authorization before the patient leaves the exam room. This may help encourage the selection of lower-cost drug alternatives, such as generics, by providing equivalent medications and cost information before the patient goes to the pharmacy to fill the prescription. 

    Considering these emerging technologies – and discussing them with your patients and your health plans – may help encourage improved health outcomes, curb costs and help your practices grow.  

    For more information, please go to uhc.com. 

    *Care providers should confirm health plan coverage requirements for specific resources or equipment.

    Footnotes
    1. UnitedHealthcare internal analysis, 2020

    About the Author:


    Dr. Donna O’Shea is the chief medical officer of population health management for UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health care company. Dr. O’Shea provides enterprise-wide leadership to design and implement clinical quality and affordability strategies to better serve the health care needs of individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
     

    Sponsored By:


    uhc logo

    UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers.

    Most Popular
    1
    UnitedHealth under criminal investigation for Medicare fraud: WSJ
    2
    States, providers face brunt of GOP Medicaid cuts plan
    3
    UnitedHealth Group to cut Medicare drug plan commissions
    4
    Federal dementia pilot has rocky rollout for some providers
    5
    'Legendary' Hemsley takes over at UnitedHealth amid rough seas
    Sponsored Content
    Digital Health Intelligence Newsletter: Sign up to receive a twice-weekly (T, F) morning newsletter featuring the latest reporting on technologies, trends, players and money fueling the rapid changes in how healthcare is developed, paid for and delivered.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content