Crucial to understand patient healthcare journey: Google/YouTube healthcare director

“By leveraging this knowledge, we can effectively guide and support their decision-making process in healthcare,” Dr Garth Graham, Director and Global Head of Healthcare and Public Health at Google/YouTube, emphasised in an Omnia Health interview previewing his recent presentation at the Florida International Medical Expo in Miami.

Perceiving technology as a positive force and a valuable tool for patients, he also stressed, was essential: “The reality is that all of us already incorporate these tools into our healthcare journeys. The critical question arises: how can we develop these tools to be engaging, evidence-based, and user-friendly for patients?

“For healthcare organisations, including large health systems and other entities within the healthcare ecosystem,” Graham continued, “these tools should be seen as valuable resources in our efforts to improve patients’ health. Like diagnostic tests or interventions, these tools serve as different interventions along the patient journey, guiding them towards improved health outcome.”

By incorporating these tools into strategies, healthcare organisations can leverage them as powerful arrows in their arsenal. Just as each arrow serves a specific purpose, these tools are essential components in the quest to enhance patients’ well-being and contribute to the overall health of communities: “It is essential for us to meet patients and consumers where they are, becoming a part of their world rather than expecting them to adapt to ours. When considering the tools available to us in technology, we must focus on integrating ourselves into the patient journey and driving positive mental health outcomes.”

To be an integral part of the patient journey, solutions need to be developed that align with patients’ needs, preferences, and behaviours. These tools, Graham pointed out, should be accessible, user-friendly, and patient-centric, empowering individuals to take control of their mental health.

Creating a collaborative and supportive environment where patients feel empowered and connected was also necessary while engaging with patients on their terms, he noted, allows them to drive meaningful and impactful mental health outcomes, positively influencing their overall well-being.

“We must think through the patient journey and how technology access and engagement help to drive patients to make the best next decision. That’s really what we should be involved in,” he added, concluding by posing the questions: “How do we help patients make the best next decision for them individually? And how do we ensure we can do that on a population level scale?”

SOURCE: https://insights.omnia-health.com/technology/unleashing-power-health-tech-enhance-patient-outcomes