The message is clear: digital health is a fast-growing trend. And doctors who don’t embrace it will be left behind.
So, too, will patients. There are so many ways digital health can be harnessed to optimise wellbeing, and yet South Africans still seem reluctant to make it part of their lifestyles.
A case of convenience
Dr Shay Ganesh, Head: Innovation at Medihelp, points to one of the most obvious areas where digital health can make a difference. “Imagine you want to have a health assessment. You’d like to find out just where you stand in terms of risk for conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure. Ordinarily, you’d have to head to your nearest pharmacy or perhaps even a doctor for the required screening. Why not do it from the comfort of your own couch, instead?”
Dr Ganesh points out that, practical considerations around logistics aside, one of the main reasons people resist screening is because they are afraid of the results. Again, digital health provides a neat solution: “The simple fact is that once you know that you are at risk for a condition, you can take the appropriate steps to manage it.” That has significant implications, not only from the perspective of remaining in optimal health, but in terms of managing costs, too. Identifying the likelihood of a condition developing helps prevent downstream costs, for instance.
Medihelp’s approach removes all barriers to the process, making it simple and convenient. Users fill in an AI-based questionnaire, which is tailored to their personal circumstances (taking into account factors like age and family medical history), then complete a facial scan which provides a complete report on health. This allows Medihelp to categorise patients according to low-, medium- and high risk, and provide advice accordingly. For example, a low risk patient may receive a reminder to check in again the following year, while a medium risk patient will be advised to consult a life coach so that they can get back on track, and a high risk patient will be directed towards a medical professional for further investigation.
A case of cost saving
One of the reasons why digital health gets the thumbs up from medical schemes like Medihelp is because it is extremely cost effective: “A screening typically costs around R550-R850, while this approach allows us to deliver an entire solution – including the questionnaire, screening and data – for less than R200; a price that is certain to decline as we the volume of users increases,” Dr Ganesh says.
This translates into significant value for money, especially since the tool is able to provide a bird’s eye view of where risk sits within the member population – but there is a caveat.
From potential to full power
Although digital health is a powerful tool, that power only reaches its full potential if people engage with it. This is where medical aids are facing challenges, Dr Ganesh reports. “We have found that people are very excited to use these tools immediately after they are introduced, but use steadily reduces after a while due to fatigue.”
Medihelp is therefore continuously working to address this by making it easier to interact with digital health tools; for example, by moving the platforms onto WhatsApp. “Interestingly, we have found that if we issue intuitive nudges that remind people to use the tools, engagement increases by 68%,” Dr Ganesh reveals.
She adds that Medihelp has taken care to address issues around confidentiality, another deterrent. She points out that data can be gathered only if members give their consent; what’s more, although all data is collected by a third party, that party is, by law, required to destroy it after 18 months. This means that Medihelp eventually retains sole ownership. Added to this, all data remains on a South African server, all of which helps to maintain confidentiality.
A plethora of possible applications
It’s a fact of life: it is extremely difficult to influence the behaviour of another individual, largely because their actions are usually rooted in deep-seated mindsets and beliefs. “This is the greatest obstacle we face,” Dr Ganesh says – but she is also confident that it can be overcome.
“We usually find that people are more likely to engage with their medical aid after a life threatening episode, because they need our assistance at this time. On the other hand, when they’re healthy, they’re more likely to ignore communications because it doesn’t matter to them at the time.”
The problem, of course, is that chronic illness or acute episodes can sneak up on anyone – which is exactly why Medihelp is adopting a population risk management approach. “By categorising patients according to their risk profile, we are able to manage our resources appropriately, so that we get the best possible outcomes.”
That’s why “South Africans need to give digital health a chance. It holds an enormous amount of promise,” Dr Ganesh says. From integrated facial scans that provide an overall picture of your general health to technology that can identify the risk of melanoma from a simple photograph of your skin, from AI-based retinal screening that detects the possibility of glaucoma to an AI-based physiotherapist or coach who can guide you through rehab when you’re unable to access the service at a hospital, there are so many different ways digital health can contribute to your wellbeing.
“This truly is the way we will manage disease in the future,” Dr Ganesh concludes.
