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How to Use SMS to Transform Healthcare Communication

Posted on by mPulse Team

In an era where communication is king and technology reigns supreme, SMS (Short Message Service) has emerged as a pivotal tool in healthcare outreach. With nearly 6 billion text messages exchanged daily in the United States alone, the potential of SMS in healthcare consumer engagement is unparalleled.

However, harnessing the full power of healthcare SMS for outreach requires more than just sending generic messages. It demands a nuanced understanding of best practices to truly connect with members and drive positive health outcomes. From personalized messaging to maximizing call-to-action completion rates, mastering SMS best practices is essential for any health plan striving to optimize member engagement and deliver impactful healthcare outcomes.

Join us as we explore the intricacies of SMS best practices in healthcare outreach and delve into five key healthcare SMS strategies proven to

  • enhance SMS engagement,
  • optimize member interactions, and ultimately
  • drive better healthcare outcomes.

Understanding the growing potential of SMS

From its humble origins in 1992, SMS has evolved into a cornerstone of connectivity, facilitating billions of daily interactions across the country. In fact, SMS is today the most common and widely used form of communication in the United States, and it has been since 2007 when the number of text messages surpassed those of phone calls.

Within healthcare, SMS has reshaped how healthcare organizations engage with patients. With the advent of multimedia messaging services (MMS) and rich communication services (RCS) functionality, the capabilities of SMS have expanded exponentially, offering personalized and interactive touchpoints for patients.

One significant advancement in recent years has been the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), which marked a new era in healthcare communication. Healthcare organizations can now deliver tailored support and guidance to patients by leveraging AI-driven conversational interfaces. This has revolutionized the member and patient engagement landscape and realized remarkable outcomes for engaging hard-to-reach and diverse populations.

Navigating Engagement and Outcomes

Despite so many technological advancements, the essence of effective SMS communication for healthcare remains the same – its ability to engage members and patients meaningfully. Generic messages often fail to capture recipients’ attention, resulting in low engagement rates, and it’s clear that personalization is key to driving meaningful interactions.

On average, text messages have a 99% delivery rate, with 95% being opened within 5 minutes. However, receiving a text from your health plan isn’t quite as exciting as receiving a text from your best friend or significant other. This is why it’s imperative health organizations schedule health SMSs that are personalization and meaningful dialogue to maximize engagement.

An example of a tailored SMS conversion between a healthcare provider and a patient to remind them of their mammogram screening.
An example of a tailored SMS conversion between a healthcare provider and a patient to remind them of their mammogram screening.

Imagine receiving a text message from your healthcare provider addressed to you by name, offering tailored guidance based on your specific needs and preferences. Going even further, picture being able to respond and converse through text messages with your health plan or provider and being sent helpful videos and lessons in response to your concerns. This personalized approach enhances engagement and fosters a sense of trust and connection between patients and the healthcare organizations serving them.

Furthermore, the impact of personalized healthcare SMS content extends beyond mere engagement metrics. Healthcare organizations have witnessed tangible improvements in health outcomes by delivering targeted messaging. From a 10pp improvement in colorectal cancer screenings to enhanced access to care measures, the power of tailored SMS content is undeniable.

Embarking on a journey of best practices

As healthcare organizations navigate the realm of SMS communication, embracing best practices becomes essential. It’s not just about SMS templates for health insurance or other medical solutions but crafting meaningful interactions that resonate with patients.

Five key practices to optimize healthcare SMS outreach efforts

 
  1. Establish trust for effective communication

Trust is the cornerstone of effective SMS communication for healthcare. By introducing yourself and explaining the purpose of the message, you lay the foundation for a meaningful dialogue with patients.

To do so, begin by addressing recipients by name and introducing yourself, then explain the purpose of the message clearly. Not only does this approach confirm the message is intended for the recipient, but by letting the consumer know you care about them and their health, you begin to lay the foundations for a meaningful relationship that will improve the likelihood of health action and, thus, member retention.

Another important consideration, although somewhat more technical in nature, is your “sender number”. Be consistent with this. Using a standard shortcode will establish trust with the service provider, preventing your messages from being blocked as spam. You can also send your members a virtual contact file (VCF) card, a great way to get all your information into your members’ phones and ensure your messages are automatically directed into their “known inbox”.

  1. Empower members to take action

Healthcare messages should be structured to enable members to take immediate action. Provide clear instructions and mechanisms for them to follow through on desired actions, such as scheduling appointments or accessing resources.

SMS allows you to use clickable links, making it easy to direct members to relevant materials or services. These branded links enhance trust, as members can see where they’ll be going before they tap on a link, but they also mean you’ll be able to track interactions at the member level for valuable, near-real-time insights.

Beyond that, you must enable your members to continue interactions. This will allow you to address any barriers preventing them from taking action and empower patients to navigate their healthcare journey seamlessly.

Conversational AI and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) enable members to reply with questions and for the technology to read a message and provide a relevant response that addresses their concern and motivates them to engage in the health action you’re driving by providing the tools they need.

By responding in a natural conversational way, you can continue the conversation, uncover barriers, and get the member or patient one step further toward taking the desired action. In turn, your members will feel seen, heard and valued, resulting in a far more pleasant consumer experience overall.

  1. Give your content a boost

Personalizing your content not only builds trust but also allows you to tailor messages to the specific needs and preferences of each recipient. By tailoring content to address demographic information and social determinants of health, you can enhance engagement and drive positive health outcomes.

Incorporating multimedia elements into SMS, such as streaming health content, further boosts member engagement. Visual and narrative communication, particularly through video, captivates recipients, fostering a deeper connection and understanding of healthcare information.

A recent A/B test including embedded streaming health content in SMS resulted in a 270% increase in click-through rates and engagement. At the same time, the neuroscience around narratives shows that people retain about 7-12 times more information when it’s told as a story.

A patient accessing streaming health content on her mobile phone in the convenience of her home
Using streaming health content is a convenient way to reach people with relevant health education content.
  1. Speak the same language as your members

Health plans often cater to diverse populations with varying language preferences, which can present a challenge. However, there’s no denying that effective communication involves speaking to your members in their preferred language.

Example of using SMS in healthcare communication and adjusting to a member’s preferred language
Adjusting to a patient’s language encourages positive engagement and valuable relationship creation.

Communicating with members in their native language is one of the most high-value things you can do for positive engagement. Fortunately, with NLU, it’s possible to identify and respond to your members’ language choices.

Adjusting to a patient’s language encourages positive engagement and valuable relationship creation

For example, if someone responds to you in Spanish, respond to them in Spanish to let them know they can change their language from English simply by replying with the word “español”. Once you’ve confirmed their language, you can update their language preferences automatically to ensure that all future communications with them will also be in Spanish.

  1. Check the compliance box

Managing opt-ins and opt-outs is not just a best practice; it’s a legal requirement under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Ensure compliance with regulations by promptly honoring requests to opt-out. We all know what it’s like when you’re inundated with messages – sometimes people may reply “stop” simply because they’ve received one text message too many that day or because they don’t understand who the sender is. To overcome that particular challenge, make sure you always provide a way for members to opt back into the communication channel if they change their minds.

Understandably, healthcare organizations may have concerns about TCPA compliance, but if you’re looking to use messaging for the first time, rest assured that text messaging programs offer some definite advantages over other forms of communication.

Elevate your SMS strategy for better healthcare outcomes

In the evolving landscape of healthcare communication, healthcare SMS stands out as a versatile and effective tool for health plan outreach. Adopting SMS best practices is essential for any health plan aiming to unlock the full potential of this powerful communication tool, transform member engagement and drive positive health outcomes.

Our recent webinar on “Leveraging SMS for Health Plan Outreach provides even more in-depth insights and practical strategies.

To delve deeper into the world of SMS best practices and get to the bottom of some common myths about the TCPA, download the full webinar, where industry experts discuss real-world outcomes and practical tips for success.

To learn more about mPulse’s digital health solutions and outcomes, contact us at info@mpulsemobile.com.

 

mPulse Drives Strong Q4 2023 Results with Organic and Strategic Growth

Posted on by mPulse Team

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–mPulse, a leader in conversational AI and digital engagement solutions for the healthcare industry, today announced strong momentum with revenue growth of 94% and 106% year over year in Q4 2023 and full year 2023, respectively. This progress was driven by both organic expansion and the acquisitions of HealthTrio and Decision Point Health Solutions.

The offerings created by the combination of mPulse, HealthTrio, and Decision Point have greatly expanded the company’s scale across the healthcare landscape. Through partnerships with 19 of the top 20 largest health plans in the country and over 300 healthcare organizations, health consumers engaged in more than 4 billion digital interactions across mPulse’s suite of digital solutions in the last 12 months.

“Healthcare organizations are continuing to invest in digital strategies that personalize the consumer experience and lead to improved health outcomes,” said Bob Farrell, CEO of mPulse. “The companies we partner with are leveraging analytics-powered digital engagement to empower the consumer throughout their health journeys, from online health plan shopping experiences to managing complex health conditions and renewing coverage. We’re gathering a broad array of new insights about consumers, which is transforming how we target and personalize the digital experience.”

mPulse’s digital programs are valued by leading organizations, with over 50% of the 5-star Medicare Advantage plans leveraging mPulse’s digital tools. mPulse’s tools enable collaboration across care stakeholders with over 2 million providers and care managers accessing shared care plans and key health plan member insights.

“We’re building a powerful set of digital engagement capabilities that are unique within the market and address fundamental challenges healthcare organizations have related to fragmented data and underpowered digital engagement capabilities,” said Sanjeev Sawai, CTO of mPulse. “Our expertise in ingesting the full range of clinical and administrative data sets and performing analytics allows us to build programs and collaboration tools that transform how health plans engage their member populations. It enables our customers to see key insights at the individual member level.”

Gartner® included mPulse as a Representative Provider in its January 2024 research note, titled Innovation Insight: A Rising Risk Strategy Delivers Care Management Gains. mPulse continues to invest in advanced analytics-based programs that allow its healthcare partners to be proactive in addressing the needs of consumers with complex health profiles.

mPulse also announced the dates for its Activate2024 industry conference, which it will host in Dallas, Texas from September 24-25. The conference convenes leaders across the healthcare landscape to explore innovation in digital health and the consumer experience. The focus of this year’s conference is “From Insights to Intervention: Creating Consumer-Centric Digital Experiences.”

Click here to learn more about how mPulse transforms patient engagement.

Pictured left to right: Dominic Wallen, Bob Farrell, Saeed Aminzadeh

GARTNER and HYPE CYCLE are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

mPulse is Combining with HealthTrio and Decision Point Healthcare Solutions

Posted on by mPulse Team

Together, we provide industry-leading analytics and digital engagement solutions focused on optimizing the consumer experience and improving health outcomes at scale.

The individual differences and expectations of modern healthcare consumers should not be seen as a challenge, but instead an opportunity to tailor and deliver value by creating consumer-centric health journeys unique to their needs. The combination of our companies unlocks this opportunity by uniting AI-powered analytics together with advanced digital engagement capabilities to create meaningful touchpoints throughout the consumer journey.

 “I’m really excited by the capabilities, products and solutions our combined organizations will bring to healthcare organizations looking to deliver consumer-centric experiences. Together, we bring a breadth of digital solutions spanning self-service health management, conversational engagement, and consumer activation and combine them with AI-powered analytics to power more insights and the optimization of outcomes.” Says Bob Farrell CEO of mPulse.

Not only is the combination of our digital engagement capabilities unmatched in the industry, we are also bringing together some of the brightest minds in healthcare technology to accelerate innovation that creates better consumer experiences and health outcomes across diverse populations. We will deliver this value across the healthcare ecosystem through our partnerships with over 300 healthcare organizations including 18 of the top 20 largest health plans in the country.

“We are excited to join forces with mPulse and Decision Point to combine our strengths to create a more connected and engaging healthcare ecosystem,” said Dominic Wallen, CEO of HealthTrio. “The digital health solutions that we provide to empower consumers, providers and health plans will get exponentially better through this combination of industry-leading technologies. It also creates new opportunities for our customers, partners and employees.”

There is a wealth of data generated as consumers interact with the healthcare ecosystem; from clinical, administrative and proprietary consumer data – to data and insights captured through digital interactions and automated conversations. Healthcare organizations that translate these fragmented datasets into powerful insights about consumers—their health beliefs, preferences, propensity to complete health actions, satisfaction levels and much more—will be at an advantage. The organizations that then transform those insights into tailored consumer-centric experiences aligned to core business objectives will outperform the market. The unique capabilities of mPulse, HealthTrio and Decision Point enable our customer partners to achieve this goal with a single vendor relationship that powers a comprehensive consumer health journey.

“The combination of Decision Point with mPulse and HealthTrio will unlock quality and cost opportunities for our clients and partners,” said Saeed Aminzadeh, CEO of Decision Point. “Our AI-powered analytics platform in combination with the rich consumer data held across HealthTrio and mPulse’s digital solutions will accelerate the development and delivery of innovative programs that healthcare organizations can offer to their populations.”

We are excited to share this update with our customers and the healthcare industry more broadly. Follow our blog to learn more and stay up to date as we revolutionize the consumer health journey and look out for some exciting webinars over the coming months. In case you missed it, check out the full press release.

mPulse Recognizes Innovative Healthcare Organizations in the Sixth Annual Activate 2023 Awards

Posted on by mPulse Team

mPulse Mobile recently wrapped up its fifth annual Activate conference with the Activate Awards, which provided yet another celebration of healthcare leadership, innovative program design, and improved health outcomes amidst various health engagement challenges.

The theme of Activate2022, The Power of Behavioral Science to Drive Health Action, was reflected throughout the conference with captivating speaker sessions and expert panel discussions. Networking inspired exciting conversation around innovative technology, behavior change design, and consumer experience, and the Activate Awards surely brought those conversations full circle.

The awards help illuminate health plans, health systems, health service providers, PBMs and other types of healthcare organizations that utilized new strategies or unique tools to activate their consumer populations. The companies highlighted each year typically face barriers with engaging a certain population or driving specific health actions, so they search for innovative solutions to tackle those challenges. 

For example, in 2019, CountyCare saw drastic rates of members losing Medicaid coverage, so the managed care organization (MCO) implemented automated text dialogues and saw their Redetermination rates improve by 3.3 percentage points in just one month, subsequently running away with the Most Improved Consumer Experience award. Last year, CareSource incorporated secure surveys, SMS, and streaming video to significantly impact their hard-to-reach members – they won 2021’s Best Use of Conversational A.I.  

The same story is true for this year’s winners.   

The remaining 3 award categories are Achieving Health Equity, Most Innovative Solution and Most Significant Outcome. Like the teamwork and critical thinking generated from breakout workshops and Q&A during the conference, the awards are a celebration of two companies that partnered together to overcome consumer barriers or gaps in care by building uniquely tailored engagement programs. 

Here are the winners of the 2022 Activate Awards: 

Achieving Health Equity

 
Program Goal
Increase Colorectal Cancer Screenings

AltaMed Health Services is one of the largest Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in the United States and provides a range of health services to Latino, multi-ethnic and underserved communities in Southern California. After seeing a steep drop in colorectal cancer screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic, the health center sought a solution that could help patients overcome barriers like language and lack of awareness of services. 

AltaMed partnered with mPulse to deliver multi-lingual, educational health content to patients using mobile fotonovelas tailored to both males and females who had not completed a screening. Patients received and digested vital communication about getting screened, where to find the nearest screening site, and more through culturally sensitive stories delivered in a familiar format.  

A randomized control study found that 63% of patients who responded to the fotonovelas either liked or loved it, and 39% reported it positively impacted their willingness to act. By educating patients with curated content, AltaMed closed a key screening gap, lifted health literacy and perhaps most importantly – made significant progress toward health equity.

Notable Outcome
Patients that viewed the fotonovelas (19%) were more likely to submit a sample for cancer screening than patients in a control group (11%)

Best Use of Conversational A.I.

 
A Technology-Enabled Health Services Company
 
 
Program Goal 
Promote smoking cessation among teen vapers 

This leading health services organization employs over 210,000 employees globally and utilizes technology-enabled solutions to promote consumer wellness and population health. A major public health problem facing young adults, particularly teens, across the U.S. is the use of e-cigarettes, or vaping. The company sought to promote smoking cessation among teen vapers, a cohort still widely understudied, by implementing intelligent conversational solutions and educational content.

They collaborated with mPulse to build a personalized SMS program, lasting 4-6 months, that leveraged Natural Language Understanding (NLU) to deliver automated, interactive text dialogues to a targeted teen population. Individuals were also provided custom-built streaming health videos that offered tips on quitting and even an option to connect with an SMS coach. 

The use of NLU enabled the delivery of automated messaging based on text responses, which helped the organization direct each individual to the appropriate resource. The program yielded an 85% engagement rate, and ultimately 69% of participating teens completed the program. The key result, that 73% of teens in the program set a date to quit vaping, demonstrates the value in utilizing automated text conversations and on-demand content to promote smoking cessation in vulnerable teens.

Notable Outcome 
73% of participating teens set a quit date
 
 

Check out a new streaming health course for smoking cessation. »

 

Most Improved Consumer Experience

 
CalOptima Health
 
 
Program Goal 
Increase Awareness of SNAP benefits (CalFresh)

CalOptima Health is a County Organized Health System that provides health insurance coverage for low-income children, adults, seniors and people with disabilities. As Orange County’s largest health plan, the organization includes a network of over 10,000 primary care doctors and serves over 900,000 Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The health system looked to address a gap they had identified with low-income families enrolling in the state’s food assistance program, CalFresh, federally known as SNAP.

CalOptima and mPulse partnered to launch a two-way texting campaign, which utilized interactive SMS powered by NLU and tailored to 7 different languages. The health plan addressed language barriers by delivering vital information about CalFresh’s food security benefits to underserved families and Medi-Cal members in their preferred language.  

Through automated text workflows, members could respond in their native language with answers like: “I already have CalFresh” or “I want to apply.” The program has continued to expand, having delivered over 5 million messages in 2022 already. Communicating with members according to their preferences about important CalFresh benefits helped CalOptima both improve consumer experience and reduce food insecurity for an at-risk population.  

 
Notable Outcome 
Over 5 million messages delivered to members in 2022 about CalFresh benefits

Like what you’re reading? Join us next year for Activate2023! Secure your spot now. »

Most Innovative Solution

 
 
Program Goal 
Drive members to schedule a diabetic eye exam

Humana is one of the five largest health plans in the country according to member enrollment and has been partnered with mPulse for over 10 years. With more than 20 million members, including over 5 million Medicare members, the plan looked to close a gap with their members scheduling the annual diabetic eye exam.

The plan worked with mPulse to launch an SMS texting campaign to increase awareness around the importance of the eye exam and to drive members to schedule an exam. The program featured A/B testing, in which one half of members was provided a 30-second streaming health video in the initial message while the other half received only text.  

The educational video enabled a learning experience that was easily accessible and familiar, concluding with a URL for members to learn more about scheduling the eye exam. Humana saw a remarkable 270% increase in clicks to schedule an exam when outreach included the streaming video. The test demonstrates that using streaming health content alongside two-way conversational solutions can significantly help activate hard-to-reach members with diabetes.

Notable Outcome 
270% increase in clicks to schedule a diabetic eye exam when outreach included 30-second streaming video

Most Significant Outcome (tie)

 
A Technology-Enabled Pharmacy Services Company
 
 
Program Goal 
Improve member experience and pharmacy engagement

The leading PBM and pharmacy services company is nationally recognized and fills over 1 billion prescriptions annually for millions of healthcare consumers across the country. With a rapidly growing population, the healthcare leader sought a solution to improve pharmacy patient engagement by utilizing a new communication channel for its home delivery pharmacy and prior authorization programs. 

The pharmacy leader partnered with mPulse to roll out more than 50 outbound-dialer Interactive Voice Response (IVR) campaigns. The IVR messages notified members about prior authorization approvals/denials, refill reminders, shipping details and doctor responses.  

Ultimately, over 5.8 million IVR records were exchanged and the outbound dialer launched over 5.1 million total calls. By offering a new avenue for members to complete a healthy action like ordering medications, the pharmacy enterprise initiated meaningful conversations to help enhance member experience, improve self-service capabilities, and close pharmacy engagement gaps.

Notable Outcome 
Reached over 2.2 million members with 55,000+ members giving SMS consent

Most Significant Outcome (tie)

 
 
Program Goal 
Improve refill adherence for HIV patients 

MetroPlus Health Plan is a subsidiary of NYC Health & Hospitals, the largest municipal health system in the country. The insurance organization serves a diverse group of over 600,000 New York residents across Medicaid Managed Care, Medicare, D-SNP, MLTC and more plan types. A big challenge for the plan was getting HIV patients to refill medications that are pivotal to managing their condition and avoiding complications.

MetroPlus partnered with mPulse to educate the vulnerable population through interactive text messaging about the importance of medication adherence and reducing their  unmedicated days. Texts were delivered one week apart and provided members with vital resources like phone numbers of a pharmacy or a member of the HIV care team.

The plan measured results based on whether or not a patient completed a refill within 7 days of initial outreach. The program yielded a 69% improvement in medication refills when SMS text reminders were deployed, indicating that text nudges inspire self-efficacy and action within this vulnerable population. Through targeted, mobile intervention, MetroPlus helped positively impact medication adherence for over 1,000 patients living with HIV.

Notable Outcome 
69% improvement in medication refills with mPulse text reminders

Health Challenges in 2023

The 6 winners of this year’s Activate Awards showed that even when a new barrier is identified with engaging a population, healthcare organizations must adapt to adhere to their consumers’ needs. Whether utilizing a new communication channel, adding streaming video or incorporating multiple languages, the awards demonstrate that providing healthcare consumers with tailored, learning experiences can significantly impact how they engage with a program. 

As the needs and preferences of healthcare consumers continue to evolve, so too should the capabilities of the healthcare organizations that serve them. Next year’s awards ceremony will surely exhibit a new string of engagement challenges with complex populations and niche use cases – let’s see what type of healthcare innovation surfaces in 2023! 

mPulse Mobile Achieves Strong YoY Revenue Growth in Q2 2023 Driven by Outcomes-Driven Engagement Solutions

Posted on by mPulse Team

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–mPulse Mobile, a leader in conversational AI and digital engagement solutions for the healthcare industry, today announced strong momentum in Q2 2023, with 159% new revenue growth over the prior year (Q2 2022) and over 80 million unique health consumers engaged through its SMS programs in Q2 2023. The company also announced the launch of its Emergency Department Diversion solution aimed at addressing overuse of the ED to reduce costs and help members access appropriate channels of care.

Value Based Care and Emergency Department Use

Value based care (VBC) strategies require a high level of member engagement, proactive outreach, and seamless coordination of care to scale across diverse populations and drive a successful business model. mPulse is supporting the needs of VBC organizations such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and managed services providers by deploying Conversational AI solutions that integrate streaming content to educate members and drive better health behaviors.

Reducing inappropriate or overuse of the Emergency Department (ED) offers a key opportunity to improve the performance of value based care plans. Today, mPulse announced the launch of its Emergency Department Diversion solution, which targets large populations and “high utilizers” to adopt more efficient and appropriate care channels. The solution is an optimized version of in-market programs, which have already reduced improper Emergency Department use by almost 70% and directed 60% of patients to visit their primary care provider (PCP) instead of the ED.

Medicaid Continuous Enrollment

As individual states manage the resumption of Medicaid re-enrollment, mPulse is supporting 24 health plans with omnichannel digital engagement that activates members to complete the redetermination process. Recently reported data shows procedural disenrollments account for 75% of beneficiaries losing coverage. This highlights the importance of providing support to individuals to help overcome barriers and connect them to appropriate resources. mPulse has leveraged its Redetermination Solution across SMS, IVR and email channels and launched over 110 tailored Redetermination engagement programs to over 7 million Medicaid beneficiaries at risk of losing coverage. mPulse’s solution uses conversational AI to generate engagement rates in excess of 30% by automatically interpreting member’s responses, aligning with language preferences and integrating high-impact streaming content into the outreach. Historically, mPulse’s redetermination outreach solutions have driven 42% increases in redetermination rates and a 93% completion rate after engaging with the program.

mPulse Recognized by Gartner® in Multiple Categories

mPulse was recognized by Gartner in its July 2023 report, “Hype Cycle™ for U.S. Healthcare Payers, 2023” as a Sample Vendor in two categories identified as having transformational benefit rating: Consumer-Centric Health Products and Community Resource Network Management (CRNM). Both categories are forecast to have a transformational impact and mainstream market adoption within a two- to five-year time horizon.

In addition, mPulse was mentioned in a new July 2023 Hype Cycle report, “Hype Cycle for Consumer Engagement and Experience in Healthcare and Life Sciences, 2023.” We believe its mention in this report demonstrates mPulse’s growing presence in the life sciences market segment, as its engagement solution increases in adoption to help support clinical trial engagement and participant retention over time.

“Through our extensive partnerships across the healthcare ecosystem, we are closely attuned to the needs of leading healthcare organizations, which continue to seek innovative technologies to support core business strategies,” said Bob Farrell, CEO of mPulse Mobile. “The innovative health plans we work with recognize the need for technology-driven member engagement that go beyond what traditional outreach can offer, and our flexible conversational AI and digital engagement solutions move the needle for their value based care goals, even among the hardest to reach populations. We feel both our customers’ results and our recognition by Gartner in key technology categories illustrate mPulse’s ability to deliver lasting improvements in the consumer health experience and member outcomes.”

To provide a forum to discuss trends in digital engagement across the healthcare industry, mPulse Mobile is hosting the Activate2023 conference September 27-28, 2023 and today announces new speakers, including Dr. Reed Tuckson, a physician and public health research advocate, and Craig Kennedy, President & CEO of Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA). The full agenda and registration page can be found at https://go.mpulse.com/activate2023.

mPulse Mobile recognized in 2023 Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for U.S. Healthcare Payers

Posted on by mPulse Team

LOS ANGELES — August 9, 2023 mPulse Mobile, a leader in conversational AI and digital engagement solutions for the healthcare industry, today announced that it was named by Gartner in its “Hype Cycle for U.S. Healthcare Payers, 2023” report as a Sample Vendor in both the Consumer-Centric Health Products and Community Resource Network Management categories. These categories help “connect members to the broader healthcare ecosystem” and “[close] health disparities and advance health equity,” respectively.

This recognition marks the second consecutive year mPulse Mobile has been identified as a Sample Vendor for the Consumer-Centric Health Products category—a market segment providing solutions that “encourage early and ongoing health and wellness engagement.” . As per Gartner, the years to mainstream adoption for the category is ‘two to five’ years with benefit rating as ‘transformational’.

This Hype Cycle identifies and describes key capabilities payers must adopt to overcome a particularly volatile business and societal environment while staying on target to achieve enterprise goals. Though health plans have historically seen slow progress in digitalization efforts, the disruption they have been experiencing since 2020 has led to an urgent demand for new technologies to create efficiencies and drive competitiveness in the market. We believe mPulse Mobile’s inclusion in the report demonstrates the company’s expertise and technology can support the significant transformational strategies being implemented by leading health plans. 

“We are honored to be identified as a Sample Vendor for two categories in 2023 Gartner Hype Cycle for U.S. Healthcare Payers,” said Bob Farrell, CEO of mPulse Mobile. “We believe the dual recognition within two important categories demonstrates mPulse Mobile’s ability to impact the broader healthcare ecosystem and deliver innovative solutions at scale that address potential barriers to improve access to care and resources. We work with over 200 healthcare organizations who leverage our digital solutions to focus on these strategies, and it is clear that when healthcare organizations invest in the right technologies, they can deliver outcomes that provide value to members and consumers, improve health outcomes while increasing profitability.”

Learn more about how mPulse Mobile transforms member and patient engagement on our website or at the upcoming annual conference, Activate 2023, where industry leaders will gather to discuss actionable health equity and digital health engagement strategies. Activate 2023 registration is free for health plans and healthcare organizations.

View the full press release here »

 

Gartner, Hype Cycle for U.S. Healthcare Payers, 2023, Mandi Bishop, Connie Salgy, and 1 more, 10 July 2023

Gartner is a registered trademark and service mark and Hype Cycle is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner, Hype Cycle for U.S. Healthcare Payers, 2023, Mandi Bishop, Connie Salgy, and 1 more, 10 July 2023

Gartner is a registered trademark and service mark and Hype Cycle is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

mPulse Mobile Drives Strong Q1 2023 Growth

Posted on by mPulse Team

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–mPulse Mobile, a leading provider of conversational AI and digital engagement solutions for the healthcare industry, today announced strong, profitable revenue growth for Q1 driven by increases in its market footprint, expanded solutions offerings and consistent improvement in health outcomes for the members and patients of its customers. During the quarter, the company surpassed 200 active customers that have automated over 1 billion conversations to deliver stellar business outcomes over the last 12 months.

The company increased its market footprint during the quarter with existing and new national payor customers by expanding into new geographies across Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial and Pharmacy lines of business. Additionally, the company increased its customer base through new partnerships with Accountable Care Organizations, Integrated Delivery Networks and other “payvider” networks (hybrid provider/payor healthcare companies). These organizations are using mPulse Mobile’s omnichannel, content-rich digital engagement platform to drive significant value by closing gaps in care, improving the consumer experience, creating retention and, most importantly, improving the health outcomes of their members and patients.

“There is a clear need in the market for leading healthcare organizations to connect with their members and patients digitally,” said Bob Farrell, CEO of mPulse Mobile. “We are partnering with our customers to deploy bespoke digital experiences that connect with individuals across diverse populations. It is exciting to see our customers use the consumer data our programs generate to measure performance against their key business goals and see the positive impact on the lives of tens of millions of individuals.”

Expanded Solutions Offerings

mPulse continues to build strong digital engagement solutions on top of the company’s core platform. These solutions address specific health challenges by addressing the needs of individual consumers and activating behavior change. Today, mPulse announced the launch of new engagement solutions for Pregnancy to its suite of solutions. mPulse’s team of behavioral scientists and engagement strategists designed the new Pregnancy solution with conversational outreach and integrated streaming content to deliver an outcomes-focused digital engagement experience that supports individuals of diverse backgrounds and abilities. Spanning pre-natal and post-partum stages, the Pregnancy solution helps mothers navigate their pregnancy and early stages of their child’s life with a focus on completing key preventive health steps, aligned to quality improvement measures. The 12-month program is available across 7 languages with clinical instruction delivered by Dr. Christine Noa Sterling, board-certified ObGyn.

Improvements in Health Outcomes

mPulse’s solutions focus on improving health outcomes, creating business efficiencies and boosting health engagement rates. Over the last 12 months, mPulse has consistently demonstrated high levels of solution performance with leading healthcare organizations across the country. For example:

  • A large national health plan demonstrated improvements in gap closure across 10 HEDIS measures, with improvements ranging from 2.1 to 18.3 percentage points.
  • A national health services company deployed automated digital engagement with health coaching and achieved a 90.6% engagement rate with the digital component of the solution.
  • An HIV medication refill program saw a 68.7% improvement in refill completion among patients overdue for refills.
  • A national health services company achieved an 8-fold increase in enrollees of its streaming health content, with an average total engagement time of 70 mins per enrollee.

Activate 2023 Conference

mPulse continues to drive innovation in digital experiences for health consumers and is hosting its Activate 2023 conference on September 27-28th, with the theme Designing Consumer Journeys for Health Equity. Dr. Ruha Benjamin will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Benjamin is Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and an expert on the intersection of race, technology, and data.

“This is our seventh consecutive year of hosting the Activate conference, and the theme this year uncovers the role digital experiences play in healthcare access and quality to address health inequities,” said Brendan McClure, Chief Marketing Officer at mPulse Mobile. “Dr. Benjamin’s perspectives on racial bias in technology systems will guide discussions around optimal design of digital programs and how they can affect consumer experiences for maximum positive impact on health outcomes.”

Digital Engagement Study in JMIR Cancer

mPulse continues to drive activities that further the understanding and drive education on the use of digital engagement to improve health outcomes. In this regard, mPulse published a milestone study in partnership with AltaMed Health Services and evaluators at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. The study evaluated digital strategies for increasing colorectal cancer screenings among populations facing Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) barriers by using automated, bidirectional texting with Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and tailored cultural content in the form of fotonovelas.

The findings, published in JMIR Cancer, show how digital engagement approaches can effectively address the challenges people face in completing important health actions like routine screenings.

View the press release on Business Wire »

mPulse Mobile Announces mPulse for Salesforce on Salesforce AppExchange

Posted on by Brendan McClure

LOS ANGELES – mPulse Mobile, a leader in conversational AI and digital engagement solutions for the healthcare industry, announced the launch of mPulse for Salesforce on Salesforce AppExchange to enable healthcare organizations to deploy SMS texting outreach to their patients and members. mPulse for Salesforce allows the healthcare industry to access and integrate mPulse’s digital engagement capabilities into their member outreach programs to improve health outcomes and increase efficiency.

Integrated directly with Salesforce, mPulse for Salesforce is currently available on AppExchange at https://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N4V00000G6oKDUAZ&tab=e 

mPulse for Salesforce provides Salesforce Health Cloud, Sales Cloud and Service Cloud customers access to mPulse Mobile’s Engagement Console, a cloud-based user interface for managing 1:1 SMS texting interactions. mPulse for Salesforce also allows healthcare organizations to have up to date member data directly in Salesforce when messaging and managing their health engagement programs. 

mPulse for Salesforce

With mPulse Mobile’s solutions, healthcare organizations can empower their support staff, engage with patients and members through 1:1 texting interactions and live agents. Texting is a preferred approach for consumers to interact with businesses for check-ins and simple requests, and mPulse for Salesforce creates an opportunity for healthcare organizations to deploy this type of support. Using 1:1 texting, healthcare support staff can reach more patients in less time, which improves efficiency at a time when healthcare staff resources are stretched.

“Demand is high and ever increasing for powerful tools to improve healthy behaviors among consumers and drive operational efficiencies,” said Bob Farrell, CEO of mPulse Mobile. “Our customers are deploying solutions to address workforce shortages. Now our solution integrates with Salesforce, we can reach more healthcare organizations with our solution and deliver on our mission of helping improve patient outcomes with innovative technology.”

The solutions are HIPAA compliant & HITRUST certified. Leveraging mPulse for Salesforce capabilities, healthcare organizations can enhance a broad range of health engagement programs including:

  • Plan Navigation, giving members easy access to help and offering additional information 
  • Care Management by targeting high-risk or high-cost consumers with 1:1 outreach 
  • Medication Adherence to address consumer questions about their prescriptions and complete refills through text interactions 
  • Health Coaching, which streamlines outreach and engagement with program participants and extends coaching conversations via SMS texting 

 mPulse for Salesforce is a welcome addition to AppExchange, as it accelerates business transformation for customers by helping healthcare organizations engage with patients while increasing internal efficiencies,” said David Lee, Vice President or Product Management, AppExchange. “AppExchange is constantly evolving to connect customers with the right apps and experts for their business needs.”

View the press release on Business Wire »

mPulse Mobile and AltaMed Research Innovative Approach to Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screenings

Posted on by Brendan McClure

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–mPulse Mobile, a leader in conversational AI and digital engagement solutions, partnered with AltaMed Health Services, one of the largest nonprofit federally qualified health centers (FQHC) in the U.S., to publish a research study in JMIR Cancer. The study found that automated, bidirectional texting using Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and fotonovelas can increase screenings for colorectal cancer, particularly among populations facing Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) barriers.

While colorectal cancer is the second most deadly type of cancer in the United States, it is also highly preventable with regular screening, as rates of survival are high when caught early. The California member population served by AltaMed, which is majority Hispanic or Latin American, is less likely to be screened for colorectal cancer and more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease than non-Hispanic white patients due to a variety of SDoH barriers to care. AltaMed partnered with mPulse Mobile to research ways to address these barriers by delivering culturally-tailored mobile content, in the familiar fotonovela format, aimed at overcoming lack of awareness around CRC screenings and other cultural and behavioral barriers.

Along with mailing at-home fecal immunochemical tests, or FIT kits, to members due for screenings, the randomized controlled trial used an automated texting program for two-way communication to identify barriers to getting screened and to educate members around the importance of screening. Among 5,241 members who had not completed their FIT kit after 12 weeks, an intervention group received an additional 4-week series of automated text messages monitored using a program developed by mPulse Mobile. In combination with the text messages, participants were sent a link to a fotonovela in either English or Spanish, containing a comic about someone encouraging a friend to complete their FIT kit and explaining why the screening is important.

The intervention resulted in a significant quality improvement among participating members:

  • 40% of members in the intervention group engaged with the text messages. Of those, 31% clicked on the link to view the fotonovela.
  • The intervention group had a screening rate of 18.8%, while the group that did not receive the texts and fotonovela had a screening rate of 11.7%.
  • Screening rates were higher among members who engaged with the text messages than among those who did not.

“Addressing Social Determinants of Health barriers among hard-to-reach populations is a core facet of mPulse Mobile’s mission,” said Bob Farrell, CEO of mPulse Mobile. “We’re thrilled to have partnered with an organization like AltaMed to demonstrate how innovative digital engagement approaches can address the challenges people face completing important health actions. Understanding the needs of individuals at scale and then tailoring touchpoints to address these needs is a crucial part of improving health outcomes across diverse populations.”

mPulse Mobile, the leader in Conversational AI solutions for the healthcare industry, drives improved health outcomes and business efficiencies by engaging individuals with tailored and meaningful dialogue. mPulse Mobile combines behavioral science, analytics, and industry expertise to help healthcare organizations move their consumers to adopt healthy behaviors.

“Our program used tailored conversations and personalized stories to engage different segments and drive behavior change. Conversational AI helped us to uncover the reasons why people weren’t completing their screenings and to address these barriers in real time. The results show that we were able to reach and influence some of the most vulnerable populations and this is very encouraging,” said Rena Brar Prayaga, Behavioral Data Scientist and co-author of the study.

AltaMed Health Services, serving primarily Latinx patients in Southern California, has a history of leading innovative, culturally-tailored member engagement programs that improve care outcomes and overcome social determinant barriers among their member population.

Evaluators at the Center for Community Health and Evaluation (CCHE), part of the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, independently evaluated the intervention. The full study, “Using Text Messages and Fotonovelas to Increase Return of Home-Mailed Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests: Mixed Methods Evaluation” was a collaboration between AltaMed, mPulse Mobile and CCHE and published in JMIR Cancer. Authors of the study are Carly E Levitz and Elena Kuo from the Center for Community Health and Evaluation, Monica Guo, Esmeralda Ruiz, Evelyn Torres-Ozadali and Anne Escaron from AltaMed, and Rena Brar Prayaga from mPulse Mobile.

About mPulse Mobile:

mPulse is transforming digital engagement for healthcare’s leading organizations through proven solutions that combine conversational AI with integrated streaming content. mPulse Mobile’s innovative technology and engagement strategy deliver business efficiencies, improve health outcomes, and inspire a more equitable, healthier world, one person at a time. mPulse Mobile has over 12 years of digital health engagement experience and partners with over 200 leading healthcare organizations to deliver over 1 billion tailored digital touch points with health consumers annually. To learn more visit mpulse.com.

About AltaMed Health Services:

AltaMed understands that when people receive care that considers their individual health needs and respects their cultural preferences; they grow healthy—and help their families do the same. Since 1969, we have delivered complete medical services to communities across Southern California. Our team of qualified multicultural and bilingual professionals—from these same communities— is focused on eliminating barriers to primary care services, senior care programs, and essential community services. With nearly 50 accredited health centers and service facilities, we remain committed and ready to help you grow healthy at any age.

View the press release on Business Wire.

People of mPulse: SriVani Ganti, Director of Health Equity

Posted on by mPulse Team

SriVani Ganti brings a unique perspective to member engagement as Director of Health Equity at mPulse and feels that she and her team play a critical role in making people feel seen.

“For me, when I think about health equity, it’s really personal. As the daughter of immigrants, as a woman of color, I have witnessed systemic racism not just in terms of looks but also in terms of all the assumptions that have been made historically,” she says.

Working hard to address that imbalance and treat people with the dignity and respect they deserve, SriVani feels that mPulse’s solutions are changing the landscape of member engagement. “We have this really cool technology that lets everyone’s experience be bespoke to them, and we can do it in a scalable way. Everyone comes with different perspectives, backgrounds, and narratives, and that means we need different approaches to achieve the same outcomes for each of them.”

Bridging the gap

Having done her Bachelor of Science in Biology through Northeastern University thinking she might become a doctor or a researcher, SriVani realized that neither were for her and went on to achieve her Masters in Health Communication through Boston University.

Having always been her family’s ‘translator’, demystifying what was presented to them when it came to ‘doctor speak’, today, SriVani continues to do just that for millions of people around the country.

With considerable experience in digital engagement, member experience, and health communications through text messaging, interactive voice response, emails and nanosites, SriVani has been focused on these modalities since she joined HealthCrowd in 2016 which later merged with mPulse in 2021. Prior to her time at HealthCrowd, SriVani worked in a few different industries including as a counterintelligence government contractor and Membership Director at a non-profit.

As a result, SriVani understands that delivering the right content to the right people at the right time, and through the right channels is critical when it comes to health equity, and she challenges her team to find new and innovative ways to reach diverse member population groups all the time. 

“My philosophy, when it comes to health equity, is to design for everyone on the margin. Because when we design for them, we include everyone in the middle,” she says. “This inevitably benefits society as a whole,” she adds, citing closed captioning subtitles as an example.

Dedicated to creating the ideal member experience, SriVani describes the Engagement Team as a small but mighty group of individuals, who each bring valuable experience from their different backgrounds, such as public health, behavioral science, health equity, and learning experience to create engaging moments of education that motivate people to take action. This not only helps health plans close important healthcare gaps, but it also educates and empowers members in a more sustainable way.

In fact, during her time at mPulse, the team has worked on a number of fascinating projects including surveys that uncover social needs such as housing, food insecurity, and financial and job instability. Based on these and other insights, they’ve developed a range of solutions focused on improving health equity, such as pregnancy solutions that target and educate Black mothers who experience some of the highest mortality rates in the country, or diabetes management campaigns for Latino populations that provide culturally relevant dietary tips and acknowledge cultural beliefs on how to treat the condition. Additionally, they have created programs in over 13 languages to help improve individual health literacy, which have seen extremely positive results with members seeking out important social services and closing healthcare gaps.

Trusted advisors

As a result, SriVani says she’s proud that, as a team, they’ve become more than a vendor to their customers, they’ve become trusted advisors.

In fact, having attended and chaired the BRI Network SDOH (Social Determinants of Health) Summit earlier this year, SriVani used the opportunity to connect with the industry and really dig into what our customers and their members are struggling with.

“A big part of what drives your personal health outcomes is actually what’s happening around you. It’s not just your access to primary care providers or urgent care, it’s things like financial stability, access to quality education, even the quality of the neighborhood you live in,” explains SriVani, who went on to add that conversations she had sparked all sorts of ideas for what we can do and how can we do it better.  

“The benefit of the mPulse Mobile technology is that we can get messages out there at a wide scale, but more than that, we can make them super personalized to the individual receiving them,” says SriVani, who explains that she and her team are working on a health equity playbook and how to be more inclusive in their marketing.

“The thing with health equity is that you always have to be considering different perspectives. No one should receive the exact same message. Every message should be tweaked based on the person’s background, health, cultural background and more,” says SriVani.

SriVani with her husband, Aditya.

Giving Back

It’s clear that a different perspective is exactly what SriVani brings to the table, as she works to create genuine moments of connection in everything she turns her hand to. Fortunate to enjoy a natural synergy day between her personal passion projects and her day job, SriVani is doing what she loves every day.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, SriVani is now based in Maryland, and credits her parents for shaping the way she sees the world. Growing up watching them give back to those around them, she’s inspired to make a difference in her own way. “I like giving back. I think it goes back to kindness, and if we have more kindness in this world things can only be better,” she says with humility.

A veritable powerhouse, SriVani is proof that dynamite comes in small packages. Aside from volunteering with a local spiritual organization, she co-founded a Hindu environmental organization, is the Director of Communications for a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating maternal and infant mortality rates in India, and is also the co-founder of a South Asian Publishing house, focused on putting out children’s literature featuring children of color.

“Every child deserves to be the hero of a story because if you don’t see yourself, then you don’t believe you can do it,” explains SriVani, eloquently summing up her beliefs when it comes to health equity too.