DIY Healthcare –where brands can help consumers
In these difficult times there are alarming concerns of how people
are managing their health.
There is a growing trend toward do-it-yourself health especially
among young adults in the US. A larger number of 20 somethings are uninsured,
and as more people lose their jobs, these numbers are increasing dramatically.
With costs of insurance premiums, and out of pocket health care
costs rising at alarming rates, people are taking their own health into their
own hands.
People are self-diagnosing, using the Internet and social media
networks or skipping doses to make prescriptions last. These are just some of
the solutions that 13.2 m young people (aged 19-29) without health insurance
have applied. Others are focusing on being healthier as a means of preventing
illness – which is a good thing, but if a serious condition emerges then there
are serious implications.
Health professional are increasingly concerned with not only
potential mis-diagnosis, but also with where people are cutting costs. People
may treat themselves less regularly, leading to potential health problems down
the track.
The effects of this can be staggering from a social and economic
cost perspective leading to reduced productivity as well as complications
generating huge costs.
This behaviour is leading to decreasing number of patient visits and
increased patient reluctance to take prescription medicine due to costs, but is
also influenced by lack of clarity of why they need medication quite often.
This provides a huge opportunity for healthcare companies to
support, inform, educate and influence consumers to make better decisions about
their health.
Brands need to help consumers manage their health but by doing so
build trusting relationships and build real utility throughout their
connections with consumers.
Mobile can play a key role in this process.
Mobile is a great way for healthcare brands to engage with patients
and consumers. Mobile can deliver
real utility for consumers – things like key information and education on why
they need to medicate, mobile coupons that can be redeemed directly at
pharmacies for money off prescriptions or timely reminders that people need to
refill their prescriptions to drive compliance and adherence.
Healthcare brands have an opportunity to tap into the behavior of
the mobile lifestyle of the consumer delivering relevant key information that
can be actioned in the right context, and at the right time and location.
Imagine receiving ongoing dialogue from a hayfever brand through a
mobile web site or text that is providing education, daily alerts on air
quality or pollen levels so that you prevent an episode, receiving money off
coupons against the brand and timely reminders to refill your
prescription. That’s real value to
a hayfever sufferer and I should know!
To an audience that is already heavily managing its health online,
mobile can deliver real value for brands targeting a group born with a mouse in
one hand and a mobile in the other.
image via Flickr
