It is no surprise that in a new ranking created by Dell with IHS Economics, seven of the top overlap with the American Fitness Index’s list of healthiest U.S. cities. These cities are arguably some of the most connected and most educated, and their infrastructure supports recreational activity.
But health is not just an outcome of development – it is a prerequisite. And never before has such an incredible tool been available for communities to engage people in making healthy lifestyle changes: technology.
Just as technology is giving providers more ways to care for and engage their patients in a variety of places, it is also providing the means for governments to reach people with health care information, businesses to tailor wellness programs for their workforce, and people to take charge of their own health.
Chronic illnesses – such as heart disease, stroke, asthma, diabetes, and obesity – are responsible for seven of 10 deaths every year in the U.S., and treatment of these chronic illnesses accounts for 86 percent of U.S. health care costs, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control. However, while they are among the most common and costly of health problems, chronic illnesses are also the most preventable and manageable, because they often respond to choices we make in our daily lives. To conquer chronic illness we have to create new habits, and that is not always easy.
Patient engagement is one way to change habits. When health care providers effectively engage patients to participate in their care, patients begin to take more responsibility for their own health and adopt healthier habits. Effective engagement of patients with chronic illnesses can lead to reductions in hospital visits, decreased morbidity and mortality, and improvements in treatment adherence and quality of life.
To truly influence positive behavior changes, health goals must fit meaningfully into patients’ everyday lives. People must be surrounded by opportunities to embrace healthy lifestyles, and that requires involvement of the entire community – care providers, governments, businesses, and, of course, the people living there.
Care Providers
Technology gives caregivers unprecedented opportunities to engage patients and provide excellent care, anywhere; technology also provides patients and health care providers with a valuable feedback loop.
Telehealth, remote biometric monitoring, and technology-assisted health coaching are powerful tools in the fight to improve chronic care outcomes because they provide in-the-moment support to patients learning to manage diet, exercise habits, and medication routines. For example, an FDA-cleared mobile app that delivers real-time motivational messages, behavioral coaching, and educational content right to the mobile devices of patients with Type II diabetes has demonstrated significant drops in their A1C levels.
Even simple text message programs can make a difference. Text2Breathe, a program of the Children’s National Medical Center, sends care information and reminders to parents of children with asthma, helping reduce emergency room visits.
State and Local Governments
State and local government agencies have immense power to use technology to spearhead healthy lifestyle and disease prevention programs. For example, in response to Philadelphia’s high rates of chronic illness, city officials recently launched Philly Powered, a multimedia campaign designed to encourage Philadelphians to become more physically active. The campaign features a mobile-friendly website that lists the city’s free or low-cost places to get fit, provides educational information, and includes a social media component enabling Philadelphians to share tips on how they include exercise in their busy lives.
Portland State University, in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Transportation, is piloting a smartphone app called ORcycle to collect data and feedback about bicycle routes, infrastructure problems, and accidents in order to improve infrastructure suitability for bicycling in Oregon.
Businesses
Chronic illnesses affect businesses through absenteeism and retention problems, and businesses are uniquely positioned to promote healthy lifestyles for workers and their families. Employers, in cooperation with their health plans, can identify the need for wellness programs and services, such as preventive screenings, tailored to lowering both health risks and costs.
Companies are increasingly integrating technology into their wellness programs. For example, includes a virtual wellness portal that imports numbers from on-site health screenings and provides employees with an action plan, educational information, and email and text reminders to help them stay on track. Some companies are adopting wearable technology as part of their wellness programs to incent employees to get fit. To protect employee health information, these kinds of initiatives must be designed with data security and privacy in mind, to maintain the trust essential for an effective health care program.
Technology gives communities in all geographies unprecedented means to invest in the health of human capital and very real opportunities to shape the future of health care – today.
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