Redefining “The Front Door” to Healthcare

Over the last few years payers and providers recognized the need to consolidate their communications with their members / patients. For example, it made total sense that the organization’s portal and mobile app be in sync with their call center so that any outreach or inbound request by a consumer could be handled seamlessly. The “digital front door” took hold as a concept. Innovative patient engagement solutions emerged all with the goal of helping payers & providers redefine their front door. It made consumer experience a little easier and engagement a little better.

But, is it enough that we consolidate the digital front door of an organization? Are we missing a big opportunity here? Is there another front door that we need to pay attention to? One that can truly change the game for payers and providers. 

Consumers now expect goods and services to be delivered right to their front door. Many industry verticals underwent disruptive transformation as companies recognized that the best way to engage the consumer is right at their doorstep. Amazon and eBay disrupted retail with their relentless focus on consumer experience. Uber did that in transportation. Netflix in movies. Spotify in music. Skype and Facebook in communications. The list goes on. Can we do this in healthcare?

Can we build an “Amazon” for Healthcare?

Payers and providers are beginning to recognize that delivering healthcare services at the consumer’s home is not only cost efficient, but also effective in driving outcomes & satisfaction. Consider the recent but rapid growth in telehealth, virtual health, expansion of types of home infusion and other specialty services. The pandemic accelerated this shift to the home. More hospitals and clinics now support telehealth visits because they know patients will not go back to traditional (read inconvenient) ways to access health care – not if they can help it. 

Then, why should consumers not expect convenience when it comes to tracking their health information or choosing services? Why not deliver the consumer's health information to an app of his/her choosing i.e the consumer’s digital front door? The CMS mandates on Patient Access (9115), Price Transparency (9915) & Prior Auth (9123) is intended to help consumers. But the mandates do not prescribe how we can take this further to revolutionize healthcare the way retail, transportation, media & communications were all digitally disrupted for a better consumer experience.

Can we connect all healthcare organizations’ digital front doors seamlessly with the consumer’s digital front door? Can we enable consumers to access their information from not one payer or provider at a time, but across all payers & providers over their lifetime? Can they then share their information with family members, doctors and third parties as necessary? Can consumers engage with their payers and providers regarding their appointments, care plans, bills/claims requests, and more – all from within their app? 

Mpowered Health is doing exactly that. This month we will launch the industry’s first FHIR compliant member / patient portal with advanced consent management capabilities that is going to truly change the game for the better! Imagine – a no hassle access to all information, no more paper trail of consents for a treatment, or enrollment into a care management program, and easier access to a member’s self-reported data (with their consent of course!)  

The Mpowered Health Member Portal – Just another mousetrap? Or NOT?

What makes Mpowered Health’s portal unique and potent? Why is it not just another mouse trap? The key lies in Mpowered Health’s vision for building a nationwide secure healthcare information & services “highway“ that consumers and healthcare organizations can use to securely engage in healthcare transactions.

The infrastructure is coming together steadily. After nearly two years of development, earlier this year the Mpowered Health Consumer app debuted on the Apple iStore & Google Play Store. Consumers, irrespective of age, gender and coverage, can use the app to consolidate their health information across multiple payers & providers or order services like second opinions. 

In June of this year Mpowered Health unveiled its first enterprise solution - the CMS 9115F, which together with its Member Portal will offer for the first time a comprehensive platform for payers, providers and other healthcare organizations to acquire, engage and retain their consumers. 

What makes this powerful is that the consumer and the enterprise part of the Mpowered Health Infrastructure is separate but connected. Consumers are already adopting the app at rates that suggest that the app solves for a real unmet need. As the partner ecosystem expands and more services like shopping for coverage become available, there is greater value for the consumer to use the app and therefore the greater their mindshare. 

Payers and providers can not only leverage the enterprise infrastructure for specific solutions like CMS compliance, but also connect to the consumer side to get a greater mindshare of their consumers right inside their consumer’s app. 

If Amazon is the first name that comes to mind when you want to purchase something - be it books, groceries or clothes, then it is not inconceivable to envision a scenario for people to think of a "go to" app for all their healthcare decisions for themselves or their family. It is time to revolutionize the way healthcare is consumed and experienced.