Josh Kahn, Staff Vice President of Digital Experience and Product Management, is a highly vocal advocate for developing decision support tools to offer improved digital care experiences. Keep reading to learn more about his views on Anthem’s SydneySM Health app and how digitally enabled healthcare is evolving to provide even greater whole-health outcomes and personalized insights — the next frontier of healthcare innovation.
Q: Personalization sounds cool, but how does an app drive a better healthcare experience?
Josh: By creating a personalized app experience that uses the latest in artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, we’re able to deliver tailored experiences that fit each person’s life and needs. Sydney Health, whether accessed through our mobile app or the web, can help navigate people through their health journey by offering targeted recommendations around closing care gaps, relevant benefits resources that are available, or a variety of other options. From the moment a member logs in to our experience, they are greeted with information that’s specific to them and highly actionable.
Personalization can take many forms, and we try to incorporate each of those into our experience. Our digital experience continually reminds people of the resources available to them — when they are most primed to need those benefits. For example, we promote uniquely tailored search results through the Find Care tool, which helps connect people with an appropriate care provider while at the same time promoting relevant clinical programs. This means matching someone with a high-quality provider who specializes in their specific health concerns. Person-specific information around plan status and where they stand relative to their deductible are also woven in throughout the experience to help drive financial literacy around healthcare that is specific to that member. Finally, we recognize the different linguistic needs of our members — for instance, we support Spanish translations within our digital experiences.
Q: Delivering personalized care means recognizing a person’s unique needs. How do you offer tailored recommendations at such a large scale?
Josh: A key tenet of our digital experience is helping to connect people to the right care — and empowering them to make effective healthcare decisions. To help address the often fragmented and siloed nature of healthcare, Sydney Health provides an integrated health record that members can access to view their information across providers or plans. By coupling that with the ability to connect with a provider directly from our application, we offer a continuous care experience that helps people feel both supported and empowered.
Artificial intelligence and predictive data analytics also serve as a core method to driving recommendations at scale. One feature that exemplifies this technology is Sydney’s nutrition tracker, which allows a member to scan a food with their smartphone camera, then use AI to track food choices and calculate micro- and macronutrients. Members can share their tracker information with any provider they choose for care guidance. We also offer the ability to submit out-of-network claims by simply using a phone camera and the app, which in turn flags any missing information identified through AI, making it easier than ever to get faster claims resolution.
While offering health recommendations through technology and algorithms broadens our efforts, we also recognize that human touch is critical within healthcare. Sydney Health offers easy access to chat with live agents from anywhere, opening the door to an additional layer of personalized support and care. By making it easier to access relevant information and handle specific issues, it’s easier to work with providers, use benefits, and follow care plans — which in turn can boost positive health outcomes and help lower overall cost of care. This era of healthcare innovation strives to both increase quality and reduce costs, a win-win for both employees and employers.
Q: What if my employees already use other systems to manage aspects of their care?
Josh: We are deeply invested in finding ways to simplify healthcare navigation. We believe a key to that success is building a one-stop-shop where people’s physical care needs and healthcare-related financial needs are met, and at the same time they also understand and can access all of the resources their employers have made available to them. We believe Sydney Health fits this bill as a centralized digital hub featuring clinical programs or other resources that an employer may offer to their employees.
We’ve seen in the data from our Sydney Preferred clients that employees with a healthcare hub are more likely to engage, more likely to make appointments for preventive care, and more likely to maximize their benefits when all the information they need lives in one central place, available 24/7.
Discover more about the Sydney Health app and how digitally enabled healthcare can help drive employee engagement, improve health outcomes, and support a healthy bottom line for your organization as we drive our next phase of healthcare innovation forward. To connect with or learn more about Josh Kahn, visit his LinkedIn profile.