Members need to engage with their health care to achieve positive outcomes. Of course, it takes work to find the right approaches to reach individuals who can’t or won’t manage their care. Let’s compare member engagement strategies that do and don’t work to help your plan provide value.
Common member engagement strategies and why they fail
Engagement is vital for members to experience positive health outcomes. Unfortunately, some member engagement strategies can fall short when plans don’t put individuals at the center of their care models. Let’s look at four of them and why they’re ineffective:
1. Using one-size-fits-all approaches
It might seem easier to treat all groups the same, but each one has different needs. Uniform approaches fail because they don’t flex to customize member engagement strategies based on the type of plan, member demographics and even the medical issues members face.
Think about the differences between Medicare and Medicaid. For instance, Medicare members might rely on family members to navigate their care and support services. On the other hand, Medicaid members might lack access to tools to enable engagement, such as Wi-Fi or digital devices. Engagement isn’t black and white.
2. Transitions of care services
It’s vital to get members on the right path toward recovery after they are discharged from the hospital in a way that feels supportive. Unfortunately, this aftercare may become disjointed.
Transitions of care services—moving from hospital back home or to a nursing facility—are well-intentioned, but discharged members have a lot on their plates as organizations attempt to coordinate with them. The challenge is that each has different goals and often doesn't share information—creating a frustrating member experience. Luckily, there’s an easy fix: working together to develop the best care plan. The American Case Management Association (ACMA) provides a framework including five steps that parties can navigate together and create a positive member experience that sets the stage for success.
3. Focusing on the end goal
Members need to go from acknowledging their health needs to finding solutions and taking action to receive support and care - often facing barriers in between.
Mapping out touchpoints based on the plan’s end goal — such as scheduling specific preventive care appointments — is ineffective because those touchpoints might not align with member priorities or their health literacy level. Instead, you need to understand their journey to boost engagement.
4. Overcommunicating
You want to reach your members and get them involved in their health. Yet, when plans think too big and overcommunicate with members via email, snail mail, phone outreach and more, it may cause communication fatigue.
Instead, focusing on how members respond to messages, the frequency of the messages and the channels you use can be supportive to the communication strategies. With new data on their preferences, you can better choose appropriate channels, messaging, and timing to improve engagement.
Alternative member engagement strategies that work
When you prioritize your members, magic happens. The best member engagement strategies respond to individual needs. These three approaches provide a solid starting point:
1. Focusing on care gaps and personalization
“What aspects of my health require more attention?” When you personalize care and engagement, you help members find the path forward, pointing them to the next best action.
Let’s say you message members through a care portal with next steps to manage their condition, rather than leaving a generic voicemail saying it’s time for a visit. Specific communication improves member outcomes by providing the right care at the right time. On top of this, you can reach members their way. Some might not own a computer, others might prefer digital communication. Personalization lets you provide relevant messaging via preferred channels.
2. Prioritizing equity
Did you know that 80 percent of counties across the U.S. lack access to pharmacies, primary care providers, hospitals and health centers?
Addressing equity with the right messaging about topics such as telehealth or mail-order prescriptions helps members who would otherwise struggle to engage with their care needs. By putting these pieces in place, you bring better awareness and access to vulnerable members and meet their social determinants of health (SDOH) needs.
3. Addressing loneliness
When members feel lonely, they might not be in the headspace to manage their health. In fact, loneliness usually drives disengagement, impacting physical health. But when your plan actively addresses loneliness, it can improve health outcomes.
So how do you do this? One factor is responding to SDOH needs. Start by combining human outreach with technology to educate, transform mindsets and encourage engagement. Supporting needs such as community and connection sets members up for success, enabling them to engage with their health and respond proactively.
Implement Effective Member Engagement Strategies
Member engagement can be a home run or a strikeout, depending on the strategies you use. You can’t treat all members the same or put your plan's needs first. Instead, meet them where they are and solve their problems. Start by personalizing engagement, providing equity and addressing loneliness.
Loneliness can ripple across a person’s overall health. Luckily, Pyx Health can help your members cope and improve their engagement. Our compassion-driven technology provides access to science-based activities and care support staff members — known as ANDYs — who link plan members to vital plan resources.
Want to harness your member engagement strategies? Download our e-book to understand obstacles and find positive ways forward.
