Healthcare Technology Innovator
Interview with Don Kemper, CEO
Healthwise
Q: Over the years, Healthwise
has made enhancements to its Decision Point tool. Through patient research, what have you learned about consumers’ evolving
needs that guided these enhancements?
A: Extensive user testing played a key role in how we redesigned and enhanced
our Decision Points. We tested not just for usability, comprehension, and retention, but for whether the user would seek out
similar tools for different medical decisions. Healthwise helps people make better health decisions, and our Decision Points
empower them to take an active role in their health care. We found that consumers need the basics carefully spelled out in
the beginning. Key points help them understand medical information, risks and benefits, and possible outcomes. And because
people learn in different ways, we know we need to present choices in different formats and in ways that let them interact
with information. We found it was helpful for them to see a broad range of values and perspectives, so we highlighted personal
stories. Consumers also let us know how important it is to help them define their next steps and to show them where to go
for more information. And they told us they wanted to print their results at the end, to help engage their family members
and doctors in their decisions.
Q: Your new, interactive Ix Conversations tool serves as a virtual
health coach to guide patients as they explore their options. What does this new tool enable the patient to do that they weren’t
able to do before? A: For most people, there is nothing better than
one-to-one coaching with an expert they trust to have their best interests at heart. In such an interactive session, the coach
can understand the problem, present alternative solutions, and ask the person their preferences and values. But that sort
of coaching is expensive and hard to find. Our Ix Conversations create a similar experience, anytime the
person wants it and at a far lower cost. The Conversations present a virtual coach to engage people and suggest action plans tailored to their values,
preferences, and other input. Multimedia learning theory shows that people learn more effectively and
retain more knowledge in multimedia environments, especially when the language is conversational. Our Conversations have that
feel. With Conversations, consumers learn at their own pace, at their convenience, instead of being bound to set calls or
appointments. Conversations teach skills through behavior modeling and by letting the user try a skill or develop a plan for
action. And again, we applied user testing, which has shown that Conversations inspire and increase intention to act and the
confidence to change. They’re
a real boon for people who may have trouble reading and are intimidated by printed products.
Q: How do these two patient decision aids from Healthwise drive
behavior change? A: Both Ix Conversations and Healthwise Decision
Points are crafted to help people make better health decisions. The 147 Decision Points are used more than 10 million times
a year to quickly help a person get his or her arms around key health care decisions: Do I need this drug? Do I need this
test? Do I need this surgery? The Decision Points even test whether a person is informed and confident enough to go forward
with the decision. Ix Conversations often go further in support of an action. For example, through the use of motivational
interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy, we can not only inform someone with diabetes about the importance of A1c testing
but can probe for the barriers that are blocking the testing and ask for a commitment to implement their value-based action
plan.
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