That Thing You Watch on Your Phone

In his opening address to the audience of the 2013 Emmy Awards last Sunday night, host Neil Patrick Harris said the industry had gathered to celebrate the best in television. “For our younger audience, that’s that thing you watch on your phones,” quipped Harris.  He was addressing a new reality in the entertainment industry—one where technology has significantly changed the way people consume television services. Subsequently, the industry is now scrambling to keep up with the public shift in interest toward digital media platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube.

“On demand” smart mobility is now the name of the game, but the entertainment industry is not the only place this evolution is occurring.  Nowhere is there greater opportunity to leverage this access to the consumer than in healthcare.

With the current shift in the healthcare delivery system toward an outcomes-based reimbursement model, everyone on the clinical team is now assertively focused on how to reduce hospital readmissions and improve health outcomes by engaging patients in the care and treatment process.  We know that dynamic platforms and mobile applications delivered over a healthcare-secure, reliably connected and highly mobile network has tremendous potential to change and support the way patients connect with their clinicians, make informed care and treatment decisions, and embrace at-home compliance.

For example, Verizon is working with some of the best thought leaders in the world to shape patient engagement solutions that can truly move the needle on preventable disease, close health inequity and disparity gaps, and reduce healthcare costs systemwide. As the technology partner of the Clinton Foundation’s Health Matters Initiative (CHMI), Verizon is innovating around these healthcare goals by deploying and piloting unique solutions in the four communities chosen by CHMI for a community health transformation:  Coachella Valley (CA), Central Arkansas (Little Rock), Northeast Florida (Jacksonville), and Houston (TX).

Whether it is improving the overall connectivity of the Coachella Valley to support a 911-texting pilot, utilizing opt-in texting solutions to notify Arkansas citizens of their new benefit options under the Affordable Care Act, or supporting hospice services in the Jacksonville area with innovative alert solutions to better coordinate home health teams, Verizon is committed to delivering secure, mobile solutions that truly engage both patients and clinicians in achieving better care outcomes.  I believe that real game-changers in healthcare will increasingly be identified as “that thing you watch on your phone.”