5 key success factors to launch an efficient patient service and boost patient engagement in 2024

The last decade has been marked by major changes in the development of digital health services to enhance patient engagement. The expectations, needs and involvement of the various parties involved have changed. New high-tech solutions have been added to sending texts, a solution that has been widely used in patient services in recent years.

At Observia, we have tried, tested and learnt from our experiences. We analysed the results of a large range of international studies on the different components of programmes to empower patients and boost patient engagement. We were inspired by the best practices of other sectors of activity.

Although each programme does indeed have its particularities and must be adapted as such, we worked with experts to identify 5 key factors for success to take into consideration in 2024. 

1. Patient engagement strategy must be co-constructed with all the parties involved

Since Observia was created in 2011, we opted to co-create digital health services for patient engagement with systemic implementation of a scientific committee integrating all the parties involved: patients, carers, general practitioners, specialist physicians, nurses, care workers, etc. After more than 10 years of experimenting, we can confirm that this approach has shown its value in identifying needs that are not covered for all these members and finding concrete solutions for their daily lives.

This approach did indeed lead us several times to question the hypotheses that were set in the first meetings with our clients (hospitals, pharmaceutical laboratories, etc.). We advise you not to include only expert patients and technophiles so as to have a global view of needs and use, and to target healthcare professionals who could be representatives for your programme in the future.

The benefit of this co-construction approach has been confirmed by Bastien Roux, the General Manager of the French Federation of Diabetics (FFD): “We must not develop a patient engagement programme based only on our intuition. We must firstly understand the needs of all the parties involved.” Bastien Roux specifies that “closed-ended questions are to be prohibited” during patient interviews to collect information on needs.

To summarise

A successful patient engagement solution is constructed between all the parties involved and is perfectly integrated to their uses. To do so, the project team must not only include the expertise necessary to develop the project (medical, regulatory, communication, IT, etc.), but also bring in participation from all the parties involved (patients, healthcare professionals, etc.). We then must take the time to thoroughly understand their needs and their uses by asking open-ended questions, so as not to cause any bias.

 2. Design centered on patients

We have always placed patients at the heart of our co-construction approach of our digital health services and pay particular attention to identifying their needs and their uses. Traditional market study methods, such as individual and group interviews, are effective for collecting as much information as possible and bringing together differing views.

We have also tested other, less common, methods such as photo-elicitation, which is based on patients taking photos to share their story and their experience. This method, combined with a semantic analysis, allows for non-invasive immersion in the patients’ daily lives and can be particularly suitable to draw the patient journey map for a particular therapeutic field.

Nicolas Naïditch, a sociologist and head of the FFD Diabetes LAB, highlights the importance of bringing together different views to take into account the uniqueness of each patient: “We must notably take into account cultural differences, socio-economic status, the level of healthcare knowledge and the social support provided by the partner or the family for example.” Bastien Roux adds that “patient associations play a legitimate role in taking into account the uniqueness of each patient and providing a context for what the patients have to say”.

So, what if the next step was to develop patient engagement solutions that are adapted to each patient? The personalisation of digital services has proved its value in other sectors of activity, with, for example, the success of the video streaming platform Netflix, which adapts its service based on the behavior and preferences of its users. Our technical team has taken on the challenge of developing an automatic personalisation tool for patient services: d.tells™. It gives each patient personalised support for their needs, their preferences and their lifestyle.

To summarise

It is important to have discussions with different patients in order to bring together differing views and take into account the uniqueness of each patient. We should also encourage “direct interactions” with traditional market study methods (individual and group interviews, etc.) and/or more innovative methods such as photo-elicitation. The involvement of one or several patient associations can also be of precious help at this stage. During the technical development stage of an patient service, the uniqueness of each patient can be taken into account by personalising the features and content to each profile based on the example of the key tool that we provide: d.tells™.

3. Engaging patients  towards changes in behavior

One of the pieces of information learnt by our team over recent years is the importance of keeping in mind the common goal of all patient engagement solutions: to help patients to adopt positive and long-lasting behavior. This change in behavior is a complex process which involves understanding what makes each patient unique and what pushes them to act in a certain way.

To meet this challenge, research in behavioral science provides a wealth of information. At Observia, we believe in this, and we have also based our ideas on various theories that stem from this research to perfect our behavioral diagnostic tool SPUR^TM which helps us to better understand the habits and behavior of each patient.

Dr Sheri Pruitt, a clinical psychologist and an expert in behavioral science, confirmed that it is important to “keep the team focused on changes in behavior, rather than on things that we imagine are effective”. She also mentioned the benefit of calling on experts in behavioral science: “You need someone who has designed programmes on changes in behavior, has tested them empirically and has evaluated them. This is someone who could really help your team to distinguish between facts and myths in changes in behavior.”

To summarise

Throughout the development of a patient engagementsolution, we must make sure that the team remains focused on changes in behavior. It is possible to base your ideas on different behavioral theories, as well as on tools based on these theories, such as our behavioral diagnosis tool, SPUR^TM. The involvement of experts in behavioral science can help you to capitalise on their experience, particularly by distinguishing between the approaches that work and those that have not proven valuable.

4. Optimal and omni-channel user experience for more patient engagement

88% of users are not very inclined to go back onto a site on which they have had a bad experience¹. On several occasions, we have been able to observe the benefits of the involvement of a user experience designer (or UX designer) and a user interface designer (or UI designer) to work on the ergonomics of the digital health service interfaces that we use.

However, it is important to remember that the user experience is not limited to the visual aspect of a digital interface. By definition, it covers all the perceptions of users resulting from the use or the anticipated use of a patient service¹.

The user experience must therefore be optimised in both its form and its content, as confirmed and detailed by Julie de Folleville, Associate Director of the RCA Factory agency and head of the We Are Patients media: “We must monitor new trends and innovate, when putting together messages, for example. We must create authentic content, content that is adapted to patients’ experiences. Creativity, innovation and authenticity are 3 factors for success.”

At Observia, we also think that an optimal user experience involves choosing the information channel based on user needs and use. Today, there are several digital channels, but let’s not forget the importance of human channels, such as a call from a nurse... Bastien Roux states that “technology should not be the only answer, patients need human support”.

To summarise

User experience (patients, healthcare professionals, etc.) must be optimised in both its form and its content. Optimising it may require the involvement of several experts; UX designer, UI designer, specialists in editorial communication, etc. For an optimal user experience, the information channel must be chosen based on user needs and use. These channels may be digital and human. Technology should always be used to support humans.

5. Keeping patients engaged: Flexible e-health solutions and continuous innovation

Our experience has shown us that a frequent error when designing an digital health service is wanting to respond to too many questions straight away. There are several risks involved in this: delaying the deployment of the solution, not having enough structure in the services provided, losing users due to an overly complex service, etc.

To avoid these issues, it is possible to take inspiration from agile methods that consist of adopting a repetitive and incremental development process, i.e. divided into several cycles. For each cycle or repetition, new functions can be added.

This approach is the one we adopted within Observia based on our proprietary web platform that is 100% interoperable with external environments (Observia Patient Cloud, OPC^TM), which allows us to gradually add new functions that have already been created by our team or customised according to needs, new uses and new trends.

This flexibility means that we can take a continuously innovative approach, which is a key factor for success for Bastien Roux: “The solution should not be set in stone. We must show adaptability and flexibility to help it to evolve over time. In a few months, the practice may have changed. The uses will potentially be out of date.”

It may be of interest to analyse surveys conducted in other sectors of activity in order to identify new trends. For example, the barometer for new consumer trends in 2021 highlights the rise of chatbots (conversational agents) and vocal assistants².

To summarise

Think big, start small, move fast! It is a good idea to opt for a development of a patient service in several cycles. The user needs, of which there can be many, must be prioritised in order to select the priority services to be provided in the first version of a patient solution, and the implementation of this solution will then be accelerated because the specifications will be precise and well-dimensioned. New functions can gradually be added, taking into account new trends and potential changes in needs, uses and practices. This development, which drives continuous innovation, can be done from scratch, or by building on a pre-existing foundation such as the one offered by our Observia Patient Cloud OPC^TM solution.

Do you plan to put patient engagement at the heart of your strategy? Do you have a patient service in place but it’s failing to reach its objectives? Are you not convinced that this kind of digital health service is useful? Don’t hesitate to contact our team, who will be able to expand on this article with further information, answer any question you may have and present our specifically developed solutions to facilitate the deployment of patient engagement solutions

References :

¹. MBA MCI. Expérience utilisateur : une priorité stratégique pour les entreprises ? 2nd September 2020. Online: https://mbamci.com/experience-utilisateur-priorite-strategique-entreprises/ (Consulted on 3rd June 2021)

². Wavestone. Baromètre des nouvelles tendances de consommation 2021. 8th April 2021. Online: https://www.wavestone.com/fr/insight/barometre-tendances-consommation-2021/ (Consulted on 3rd June 2021)

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Many thanks to the four experts who shared their advice in this article

Sheri Pruitt has 27 years of experience as a clinical psychologist, and is a recognised expert in behavioral science. She pioneered the use of technology for changes in behavior by creating the first online health coaching programme for lifestyle improvement in 2007.

Bastien Roux is the Director General of the French Federation of Diabetics (FFD). Created in 1938 and recognised as an organisation for public interest in 1976, the FFD is a patient association with 3 missions: to inform and support diabetic patients, to defend patients individually and collectively and to support research and innovation.

Nicolas Naïditch is a doctor in sociology and head of the FFD Diabetes LAB. The Diabetes LAB designs and conducts studies on the daily life of diabetics, their experience and the use of medical devices that concern them, and on medical advances in diabetes.

Julie de Folleville is the Associate Director of the RCA Factory agency and head of the We Are Patients media. This French-language media gives a voice to patients and their loved ones. It showcases powerful, touching and positive stories, while addressing issues related to chronic diseases (cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, etc.).