Purging Healthcare of Unnatural Acts

Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

Article | August 21, 2023

In the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, transparency in pharmacy benefit management (PBM) has emerged as a critical issue. The discussion surrounding driving down prescription drug costs and increasing access to affordable medications has brought attention to the practices of PBMs. However, achieving true transparency requires more than just buzzwords; it necessitates access to real-time data that empowers consumers to make informed decisions about their healthcare. In this piece, we will explore the importance of real-time transparency in PBMs and highlight how Xevant, a leading platform, is revolutionizing the industry. The Current State of PBM Legislation With over 100 bills to reform PBM practices, legislative efforts are intensifying to address the business practices associated with PBMs. However, one common concern is the absence of language surrounding real-time automation in many of these bills. The lack of such provisions threatens to undermine the effectiveness of the proposed reforms. It is crucial to examine the available resources and insights to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue. The current state of PBM legislation and the efforts to reform PBM practices highlight the pressing need for transparency and accountability in the pharmaceutical industry. PBMs play a critical role in the drug pricing ecosystem. Still, concerns about “traditional” PBM business practices, such as lack of transparency and opaque rebate systems, have raised questions about their impact on drug prices and patient access to affordable medications. Xevant's Groundbreaking Solution Xevant, led by CEO Brandon Newman, stands at the forefront of the drive for transparency in PBM practices. As the only platform capable of providing PBMs and consumers with real-time, automated, and completely transparent data from the entire pharmacy benefits ecosystem, Xevant is poised to revolutionize the industry against the backdrop of the political landscape. The absence of language surrounding transparency and real-time automation in many proposed bills threatens the effectiveness of the reforms. Yet, innovative companies like Xevant are leading the charge for openness in PBM practices. Xevant's real-time data automation and optimization capabilities empower consumers with timely, comprehensive, and transparent information, enabling them to make informed decisions about their healthcare and potentially save money. With the potential passage of these bills, the pharmaceutical industry could see a shift towards greater accountability, fairer pricing practices, and improved access to affordable medications. The reforms could also create a more level playing field for generic drug manufacturers, fostering competition and lowering prices. Real-Time Data Automation and Optimization Newman emphasizes that transparency cannot be achieved without access to real-time data automation and optimization. This real-time, customized data enables individuals to compare prices, explore alternatives, and understand the specific cost components related to their medications. By bringing together various parts of lowering drug costs, such as drug rebates, 340B contracts, sell-side discounts, copay assistance, and employer negotiations, Xevant offers a solution that empowers consumers with the information they need when required. The Implications of Timely Access to Data The scarcity of timely access to data among many traditional PBMs is a significant challenge in achieving transparency in the pharmaceutical industry. These PBMs typically collect data annually, which leaves a substantial margin of error and can result in millions of dollars lost from consumers' pockets. In contrast, Xevant's capabilities offer a game-changing solution. With Xevant's platform, consumers gain immediate access to critical information regarding drug rebates, markups during spread pricing, competitive alternatives, and the vast landscape of the pharmaceutical ecosystem. Having these complete datasets available in real-time allows individuals to make informed decisions about their healthcare and potentially save lives. The significance of timely access to data cannot be overstated, as transparency becomes meaningful only when it happens in the present rather than months, or even a year, later than when the impact has already occurred. Navigating Proposed Legislation and Questionable Business Practices Another critical aspect of the PBM landscape that Xevant addresses is the moral implications associated with cost-sharing, clawbacks, spread pricing, and the pass-through of rebates. These practices have long been criticized for their opacity and their negative consequences on patients' access to affordable medications. Xevant's transparency-focused approach highlights these practices, allowing stakeholders to evaluate their ethical implications and work towards fairer alternatives. Xevant recognizes that proposed legislation may have potential cracks that allow for slip-through and the continuation of questionable business practices. Delayed and inaccurate reporting are loopholes that can hinder the effectiveness of reform efforts. By actively engaging with legislators and industry stakeholders, Xevant aims to identify these potential shortcomings and advocate for comprehensive robust legislation that leaves no room for exlploitation The Future of Healthcare and the Role of Real-Time Automation As the discussion surrounding PBM reform gains momentum, the future of healthcare in America hangs in the balance. Xevant sets a new standard for efficiency and consumer empowerment in healthcare decision-making by employing AI-driven technology. Xevant's visionary approach to real-time data automation and optimization paves the way for greater transparency and cost savings in the pharmaceutical industry. Wrapping Up Transparency in pharmacy benefit management is crucial to addressing the soaring costs of prescription drugs and enhancing access to affordable medications. Without access to real-time data and automation, the pursuit of transparency remains elusive. Xevant's groundbreaking platform solves this pressing challenge, enabling PBMs and consumers to access complete, transparent data in real-time. As legislative efforts progress, the need for real-time transparency becomes increasingly evident, and Xevant emerges as the leading legal solution for PBMs. When harnessing the power of real-time data automation, the vision of affordable healthcare can be transformed into a reality, benefiting individuals and the entire healthcare ecosystem.

Healthtech Security

Article | November 29, 2023

Embracing the AI Revolution: Transforming Digital Healthcare Software through AI-Enhanced UX Testing The wave of demographic change sweeping the United States presents an urgent call to action for healthcare providers. According to the US Census Bureau, adults over 65 will account for a quarter of the US population by 2060, signaling a drastic shift in healthcare delivery needs. More than half a million of this demographic will be centenarians, accentuating the need for digital experiences tailored to seniors' unique needs. Despite the rapid advancement of digital health technologies, research indicates that many senior citizens struggle to adapt. A recent study reported that 40% of adults over 65 believe their telemedicine visit was inferior to traditional in-person care, with a meager 5% finding it superior. The promise of convenience delivered by digital health is often overshadowed by the frustration associated with technical difficulties. An astounding 75% of senior citizens admit they need assistance when using new electronic devices. Let's consider the patient portal app, a common touchpoint in the digital health journey. Despite its apparent simplicity, seniors find processes like logging in troublesome due to issues like forgotten passwords, technical bugs, or content readability. This scenario underlines the crucial need for comprehensive User Experience (UX) testing to eliminate these barriers and provide a seamless digital health experience. The Complex Landscape of Healthcare UX Testing The complexity of UX testing in healthcare has been exacerbated by the interplay of multiple modules, services, platforms, and vendors. Take Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems, for instance, which undergo frequent updates, each one potentially impacting the system as a whole. Traditional manual testing methodologies are proving to be time-consuming and costly. Though automation has revolutionized sectors from automotive to finance, the healthcare industry appears to be lagging. A study by the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) reveals that a mere 15% of healthcare providers have adopted modern test automation platforms. Meanwhile, a significant 41% still rely on manual testing. As EMR systems grow increasingly complex and customized, this over-reliance on manual testing poses daunting challenges. The gravity of this issue is amplified by a startling revelation from the HIMSS study - only 6% of healthcare executive leaders express confidence in their organizations' testing practices. In an increasingly digitized healthcare environment, such a low level of assurance raises substantial concerns about patient safety. Although 75% of the surveyed providers have invested in software testing to safeguard their bottom lines, nearly two-thirds confess feeling inadequately resourced in terms of time, money, and talent to meet future testing requirements. As the list of testing demands grows, QA teams are frequently stretched thin, leaving many potential user journey scenarios untested. The Power of AI in UX Testing for Better Patient Outcomes AI technologies hold the potential to revolutionize UX testing in healthcare. The modern healthcare application is a labyrinth of potential user journeys - a typical mobile application model can yield over 9 billion separate scenarios. To effectively navigate this colossal testing landscape, test automation tools employing Machine Learning (ML) algorithms are critical. By analyzing historical patterns, prioritized cases, and real-user insights, ML algorithms can auto-generate test cases and meticulously scrutinize each user interaction. This approach ensures an optimal digital experience and robust coverage of potential issues. The HIMSS study also provides a glimmer of hope, revealing that nearly 80% of healthcare providers plan to adopt real-time testing analytics for quality assurance. AI's role becomes pivotal in augmenting the capacity of software testing teams in this scenario. By leveraging historical patterns and prioritizing test cases, ML-powered testing tools can automate crucial tests across various platforms, devices, and operating systems. This symbiosis of human expertise and AI not only bolsters productivity but enables comprehensive testing coverage within tight time constraints. The Future of Healthcare Software UX Testing The path to perfecting a patient’s digital journey is fraught with challenges. Healthcare organizations venturing into automated software testing or contemplating in-house tool replacement must stay abreast of evolving healthcare testing requirements. This understanding is key when evaluating automation vendors against the backdrop of regulatory standards. Opting for a technology-agnostic solution ensures extensive test coverage, boosts efficiency, and guarantees longevity as technologies advance. Introducing your software QA teams to user-friendly, low/no-code test automation tools can simplify the onboarding process and fosters better collaboration with Dev teams and business testers. As we stand at the precipice of this transformative period in healthcare, it's clear that the AI revolution holds the key to unlocking the future of digital healthcare UX testing. By harnessing AI's potential, healthcare providers can ensure a user-friendly, seamless digital experience for the fastest-growing demographic, setting new industry standards in the process.

Healthtech Security

Article | August 31, 2023

Everybody deals with stress and anxiety, however the key is to know what to do when you’re stressed out. It is not always easy to keep your feelings from getting the best of you. With this in mind, here are seven tips that a person can use to help manage their daily stresses and anxieties before they get out of control. 1. Get all of the facts of the situation: Gathering the facts of a certain event can prevent us from relying on exaggerated and fearful assumptions. By focusing on the facts, a person can rely on what is reality and what is not. Most importantly, do not focus on your fearful thoughts when you’re stressed out. 2. Take a break: Sometimes, we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off of the problem. A person could take a walk, listen to some music, read the newspaper, or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things. 3. Carry a small notebook of positive statements with you: Another technique that is very helpful in managing fear is to have a small notebook of positive statements that makes you feel good. Whenever you come across an affirmation that relaxes you, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry around with you in your pocket. Whenever you feel depressed, open up your small notebook and read those statements. 4. You can’t predict the future: While the consequences of a particular fear may seem real, there are usually other factors that cannot be anticipated and can affect the results of any situation. We may be ninety-nine percent correct in predicting the future, but all it takes is for that one percent to make a world of difference. 5. Challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking: When encountering thoughts that make you fearful or depressed, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense. Focus on the reality of your situation and not on your thoughts. Your fearful thoughts can make things worse so try to focus on something positive when you get anxious. 6. Divide your activities into separate steps: When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, divide the task into a series of smaller steps and then complete each of the smaller tasks one step at a time. Completing these smaller activities will make the stress more manageable and increases your chances of success. 7. Take advantage of the help that is available around you: There are many individuals who have been expertly trained in the field of psychology to help you find ways to manage fear and anxiety. Seek out someone whom you trust to provide sound advice and guidance. This same professional can also help you create an action plan for dealing with your fears and anxieties in the future.

Article | January 29, 2021

COVID-19 has sped up the adoption of healthcare technology solutions by healthcare providers. This has unexpectedly brought a peak in opportunity for health tech companies to achieve important business, demonstrating your innovations. However, it is very challenging and competitive as bigger health tech companies pivot and new health tech start-ups keep coming into the healthcare market. This also makes the healthcare technology market an increasingly competitive space. Thus, all health tech companies need to depend more on effective health tech messaging for their business purpose and credibility. This will help them bring their targeted clients on board for the long-term. Health tech Messaging Challenges Faced by Marketers Nowadays, the process of marketing products online is a combat sport. With every passing year, it is becoming more challenging for health tech marketers to beat the algorithms, build the audience, and ultimately win the hearts of the customers through effective health tech messaging. Digital health leaders are coming up with amazing technology innovations that can revolutionize the healthcare industry. Electronic medical records (EMR) software, medical billing software, medical practice management software, electronic claims software, medical database software, medical research software, medical diagnosis software, medical imaging software, telemedicine software, etc. are some of the examples of amazing technology innovations and latest healthcare technologies. But, things fall apart when it comes to marketing through effective health tech messaging. The following are some of the health tech messaging challenges faced by marketers. • Communicating the purpose and value of your business and the products effectively to clients • Making the clients understand the credibility of the technology products and your business • Product positioning • Lack of clear healthcare marketing strategy • Bad marketing advice • Lack of effective and compelling marketing content • Failing to understand the client/buyer persona • Failing to understand the brand pillars, • Ignorant of effective use of various messaging channels, and much more Why Does Effective Health Tech Messaging Matter? From the introduction part, you might have already understood the power of a good health tech messaging strategy. If you do not have a unified marketing strategy, you will end up merely alienating potential customers; they may end up in confusion about the purpose of your health tech brand. Moreover, without an effective health tech messaging strategy, you may become incoherent to your audience. But the real impact of a cohesive and good health tech messaging strategy will surely go beyond everything we have talked about already and empower your business in all aspects. Different marketing materials, whether they are social media posts, emails, podcasts, videos, or something else, your health tech messaging strategy will guide you in determining what to focus on and what tone to be used. If you are planning a social media campaign or writing blogs and articles, you will know the attention-grabbing ways of speaking to your customers. This is possible only if you have a defined messaging strategy. Customer service teamwork also becomes more effective and easier, when you have a good health tech messaging strategy. Educating the customer is easier when you speak to them in a tone and language that you know they will understand. Doing it consistently makes you win the customer. How Health Tech Messaging Can Work for Reaching Healthcare Decision Makers It is not an easy task to engage healthcare decision-makers in hospitals, insurance providers, health systems, and private practices. These high-powered directors, managers, and executives are busier than ever. This makes the process of health tech marketing difficult. Apart from overwhelming job responsibilities, these healthcare professionals are also inundated with ads, emails, and phone calls. So rather than sending them messages randomly, it is important to help your prospects when they are free from their daily disruptions and have time. Here, an effective health tech messaging strategy can help you reach out to decision makers easily. Health tech messaging strategy lays out various health tech marketing techniques, tricks, or tactics. These health tech messaging techniques or methodologies are helpful in the three stages of your health tech client journey: awareness, consideration, and decision making stages. Through all these stages of health tech massaging, you help or influence health tech decision makers to recognise they have a problem, consider a solution, and finally they take the decision to purchase your product. 4 Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Health Tech Messaging Performing your brand messaging haphazardly is not going to take you anywhere in reaching out to people, who need your products. Instead, you should slow down yourself a bit and build a compelling health tech messaging strategy. Test it, launch it, and learn from it. If you are strategic, you are truly going to drive your mission despite the noise that is existing on the internet today. Here are four important factors that will help you make your health tech messaging strategy effective and compelling. Understanding Your Targeted Audience You have a better idea of who you are and what you offer. Now you need to know who your audience is, which is equally important in building health tech messaging strategy. Throughout the process of messaging, it is vital to keep your ideal buyer in mind. So, you will only create messages that will resonate with the needs, interests, motivations, and pain points of your potential clients. The things you want to know about your targeted clients are called buyer/client persona. Buyer Persona It is better to create a buyer persona that tells who your customer and what their goals are. Buyer persona also will help you align your brand with your customers. According to HubSpot, a buyer persona can be a semi-fictional representation of your potential customers based on real data and market research and about your current customers. Knowing who your messages are aimed at is important in developing a successful health tech brand messaging strategy. Before you go any further, buyer persona makes you know: • Who you are marketing to • What they care about and value • The sort of language they use and will respond to • Geographical location • Educational and income levels • Psychographics and behavioral patterns, etc. Focusing on Your Differentiating Factors from Competitors To figure out your differentiating factors from the competitors is as important as you understand your place in the market. You will have to assess the differences and similarities between the products and services you offer and your competitors’ offerings. Also, compare the targeted audience of you and your competitors. Understanding your competition, you face from the market, will get you a clear image of your brand and what health tech message you may have to send out to your targeted audience. Just remember that each of the health tech brands can have only one message; it needs to be unique. Due to the competition, messages can be too similar, but it should not make your customers get confused about your business. Thus, communicating your uniqueness to your audience is a very important factor. In this regard, conducting some competitor analysis may help you a lot. Making your Value Propositions Obvious You can influence how people perceive your brand if you could successfully communicate the values of your business. Values are principles or mission that guide all actions of brands. Storytelling can be effectively used to illustrate the values of your brand. Success stories from Salesforce and Microsoft’s Story Labs are examples. These stories can be on things such as empowering small businesses or improving the world through technology. It creates loyalty when you make your clients feel they are part of something that is going to change the world for the better. It is very helpful to start your health tech messaging process with your value prop because it is the core of what you do and who you are. Your value prop explains both the emotional and functional benefits your service or products provides. This means the value people get out of your products. Communicating the values of your company is considered strong health tech messaging only when it specifies how your brand is going to solve a problem and why should people choose your product. Using Multiple Technology Channels for Brand Messaging In general, digital health tech messaging has to be pinpointed. The spray and pray method will not work to bring in inbound leads. However, if you want to reach out to health tech audience with your health tech messaging, you should be there on all the channels they are on. Here are a few examples of channels, which can be used to reach out to people effectively with your health tech messaging process. Digital Ads If digital ads are used effectively for health tech messaging, you can reach out to your target audience easily. When digital ads are used correctly, you can pinpoint the audience through audience targeting and keywords. Moreover, through ad channels, you can reach out to people who otherwise would not have ever known about your products. However, if you are not using digital ads effectively, you will lose money without any results. Social Media Most people are active on some sort of social media channels. Many of these people use these channels either for networking or educating themselves in their field. This is the reason why you should concentrate on social media platforms for effective health tech messaging in a way that encourages interaction and feedback. Along with establishing a strong relationship with your prospects, you can also use social media platforms to build brand awareness through health tech messaging process. Emails Emails are the fruitful medium for effective health tech messaging. You can build brand awareness through seeding emails regularly. It will work as a bookmark than a selling point. Potential clients will remember the good interaction you had with them through emails when they have a problem in the future. Along with these channels, other channels such as videos, websites, blogs, articles, podcasts, etc. also can be used for effective health tech messaging. These multiple channels, where most of your potential clients are present, are selling points for your health tech products or helps in lead generation for healthcare technology products. To sum up, what matters more in health tech messaging and marketing is projecting your values, differentiating factors, knowing A to Z about your targeted audience, and meeting them on the channel, where they are present. Your health tech brand message is something that makes you dwell in the minds of people. Thus, how you are perceived matters a lot. Start building your brand today by sending out effective health tech messages to your potential clients. Frequently Asked Questions How does health tech messaging help? Heathtech messaging helps you to improve your business by making your potential clients understand what you are and what you do. Brand awareness of your products is done through effective health tech messaging. What is the best health tech messaging method? The best health tech messaging method is to project your business values in all the marketing campaigns you do. It should specify what your customers can expect from your products and services and what changes it will make in society. How does technology help in healthcare? Technology helps healthcare to avail all patients the best treatment available and make them satisfied and engaged. Also, technology helps healthcare industry to innovate treatments and revolutionize the entire practice in the healthcare sector. Why is technology important in healthcare? For achieving optimum patient satisfaction and engagement, technology is important in healthcare. Also, technology plays a role in improving the healthcare system and saving the lives of people.