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Author: Brendan McClure

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.

mPulse Supports Over 30 Customers During the Unwinding of Continuous Enrollment

Posted on by Brendan McClure

LOS ANGELES – mPulse Mobile, a leader in conversational AI and digital engagement solutions, announces collaborations with over 30 managed healthcare organization customers to leverage digital engagement strategies to support the redetermination of Medicaid and CHIP enrollees following the end of the continuous enrollment period that was part of the Covid-19 public health emergency (PHE). These collaborations will ensure millions of low-income Americans retain the health coverage they need, and will provide digital resources to help individuals who no longer qualify for Medicaid transition to public exchange plans.

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed a federal spending bill containing legislation decoupling continuous enrollment from the PHE effective April 1, 2023. Medicaid and CHIP enrollees will have to go through the recertification process to retain coverage. Medicaid Managed Care organizations (MCOs) have a 12-month timeframe to initiate and two additional months to complete renewals for their members in collaboration with local and state agencies. On January 23, 2023, the FCC issued a declaratory ruling reaffirming that the provision of a mobile phone number by a member to their state agency during the enrollment process constitutes prior express consent. Therefore, text outreach is an effective tool to drive the recertification process.

“Medicaid plans face a large administrative challenge to ensure their enrollees have continuous access to care,” said Bob Farrell, CEO of mPulse Mobile. “Many Medicaid beneficiaries tend to change addresses frequently, so traditional mailed recertification communications are less effective, whereas mobile phone ownership is well above 90% and text is utilized across populations. mPulse has pioneered the use of text outreach across lower income populations and individuals who face SDoH impacts, and we’ve consistently demonstrated our ability to engage and activate these hard-to-reach populations to take positive action for their own health.” 

mPulse is working with a broad set of national and regional MCOs to deploy digital outreach programs to support members through the recertification process. mPulse’s conversational AI capabilities allow health plans to send out reminders with embedded links to online sites for recertification and ask questions about barriers that may be preventing members from re-enrolling. As members respond via text, the automated program addresses the issues they identify, which provides a robust consumer experience and improves program outcomes. mPulse has deployed automated conversational programs to Medicaid populations across seven languages. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, mPulse’s digital outreach redetermination programs consistently delivered over 20 percentage point improvements in redetermination rates compared to traditional communication channels.

“With much of the last year spent in a holding pattern with each 90-day PHE renewal, we finally have a clear path through the end of the unwinding phase,” said Reva Sheehan, Senior Director of Customer Insights at mPulse Mobile. “However, that doesn’t mean it will be easy. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Medicaid MCOs. We encourage all impacted health plans to take advantage​ of CMS’ call for states and MCOs to work together, and the FCC’s clarification of prior express consent to text and call individuals to provide assistance through the entire recertification process. In addition to known challenges and barriers, many of these individuals have never been through a recertification process. The robust multi-channel communication approach that mPulse Mobile provides is the best way to keep at-risk members from slipping through the cracks.”

Visit the full press release ​on business wire »

mPulse Expands Streaming Engagement Capabilities for Consumer-Focused Digital Health Content

Posted on by Brendan McClure

mPulse Mobile announced today the launch of new content capabilities and streaming courses that address health literacy barriers in a consumer-friendly format.

Several solution advances continue mPulse’s focus on integrating streaming content into digital health engagement strategies, creating an industry-leading combination of conversational AI that drives two-way SMS messaging campaigns and powerful health streaming content to engage, delight, and move consumers to adopt healthy behaviors. New capabilities include “Stories” Videos and Health Educational Courses.

“Stories” Video Format

mPulse launched the stories video format to deliver more impactful content experiences in consumer-focused outreach programs. The format adapts video “stories” commonly seen in social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels to deliver captivating content on important healthcare topics. 

New Health Educational Courses

mPulse has also launched new streaming health courses that address key health issues and improve health literacy in a consumer-friendly digital format. Produced with proven learning techniques and behavioral science, these courses allow healthcare organizations to extend the digital experience from initial outreach to deep, relationship-building experiences.

Read the full press release »

Analysis of April 1, 2021 Supreme Court Ruling on the TCPA

Posted on by Brendan McClure
Big news for healthcare organizations that have been hesitant to fully leverage text messaging due to conservative interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). On April 1, 2021 the Supreme Court ruled that automated messaging did not fall under the TCPA if the system sending the messages was not an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS). The court’s definition of an ATDS was very narrow. Whether storing or producing numbers to be called, the equipment in question must use a random or sequential number generator to be considered an ATDS. Therefore, if organizations, healthcare or not, are not using an ATDS to send messages, then those messages do not fall under the TCPA. The ruling provides additional protections that should persuade more conservative organizations to adopt prior express consent strategies. The TCPA was established in 1991 to protect consumers from the growing number of telephone marketing calls. In 2013 and 2015 a series of carve-outs added provisions for healthcare related calls and messages where consumers who have knowingly released their phone numbers to a HIPAA compliant entity (or its Business Associate) have effectively given their invitation or permission to be called at the number which they have provided, absent instructions to the contrary. The call or message must fall within the scope of the consent that it was provided. Most commonly, this means if an individual provides their mobile phone number e.g. filling out an application form (paper or online) for health coverage or signing up to a medical practice, then they have provided consent for that company or another operating under a BAA to use that number to contact that individual. If you applied to a state Medicaid agency for health coverage and provided your mobile number on that enrollment form, then after coverage was granted you received a message from the managed care organization you had been assigned to, it would not a be a surprise. More likely it would be a good experience. Maybe even expected. But some healthcare organizations have taken a more conservative interpretation of the law and require the strictest consent requirements: prior express written consent. Applying prior express written consent to the above example, in addition to providing their number when enrolling at the state level, the member would have to specifically provide written consent (typically, by providing their number again, checking a box to confirm consent, or texting in a keyword) in order to receive automated communications from that health plan managing their benefits. This approach significantly reduces the percentage of members who can benefit from valuable informational messages to help them manage their health. Unless healthcare organizations are using a system that has the capacity to generate and store random or sequentially generated phone numbers, which is extremely unlikely, this Supreme Court ruling means messages they send to patients and members do not fall under the TCPA. There is no law regulating their messaging, minimizing any risk of class action litigation. However, member consent is part of providing a positive experience. That’s best practice. So, what the ruling effectively means is that in addition to the protections afforded by consent, healthcare organizations have another layer of protection by falling outside of the ATDS definition. Depending on how organizations have previously interpreted TCPA, here is some guidance to help align on a new approach: Organizations that have historically obtained prior express consent
  • These organizations do not need to adjust their approach. Using prior express consent means they can engage the majority of the members and drive optimal value out of the SMS channel.
Organizations that have historically required prior express written consent
  • Business leads should work with their legal teams to transition to a prior express consent strategy. Any concerns about the prior express consent approach are mitigated by the additional protections afforded by the Supreme Court ruling.
Organizations that have historically received phone numbers from a 3rd party
  • Business leads should assess the context of how individual numbers were originally provided. If the number will be used to engage individuals on topics related to the scope of how it was provided, then the business leads should work with their legal teams to transition to a prior express consent strategy.
The definitions of ATDS apply to both pre-recoded voice calls and text messages. However, following the Supreme Court ruling, adapting consent strategies for text messaging is clean compared to pre-recorded voice calls or IVRs. Within the TCPA, pre-recorded voice calls have additional areas of regulation pertaining to how the mobile number was gathered and these areas must be taken into account when conducting automated calls. There are more protections for sending automated text messages than there are for pre-recorded voice calls. The ruling is favorable for organizations across industries, but it is unlikely to lead to dramatic changes to how organizations use the SMS channel. Firstly, considerable industry self-regulation exists, such as carriers’ ability to block automated spam calls. The CTIA (industry body for the wireless communications industry) provides strict guidance on how messaging programs should be managed and has the power to shut down non-compliant messaging programs. Secondly, it is in the interests of brands to follow best practices and deliver excellent consumer experiences. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) that oversees the TCPA may react to the Supreme Court ruling by updating the law, but the manner and urgency of its response will in part be driven by whether brands put consumer interests at the fore and self-regulate best practices for consumer messaging engagement. If the FCC does act, and it has no obligation to do so, any new consent rules would have prospective effect only. For healthcare organizations that have been slow to adopt text messaging engagement due to TCPA regulations, the ball is firmly in their court. The TCPA is vague in parts and while many organizations see the opportunity the prior express consent approach, they hold-back because of uncertainty of the language. Now that the risk of class-action litigation has been largely ruled-out, these organizations have a significant opportunity to leverage the SMS channel more.

The Importance of Tailored Telehealth Engagement for Low-Income Populations

Posted on by Brendan McClure

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, mPulse and our customers have placed a major focus on delivering programs geared toward vulnerable, hard-to-reach and culturally diverse populations. We have been encouraged by the results so far. Early analysis of 2,500,000 messages across multiple mPulse customers sent to approximately 319,000 Medicaid plan members in Cook County, Illinois (primarily the greater Chicago area), showed individuals who had greater SDOH barriers were actually more likely to engage with our COVID-19 programs than those with lower SDOH barriers. There are several factors that contributed to this reversal in normal engagement levels. Lower income populations were disproportionally infected with COVID-19 cases, which created urgency for engaging with COVID-19 content. Outreach that provided information about free resources and subsidies were most valuable to members who were more adversely impacted by SDOH. And lastly, content was tailored to culturally diverse populations. Program content was developed in multiple languages, and our customers leveraged our mobile-optimized fotonovela outreach. Every healthcare organization understands the importance of engaging hard-to-reach populations, and as we look to the ‘new normal’ post-COVID, there are important learnings from this period that should be a part of every engagement strategy.

One of the more prominent aspects of the new normal will be the accelerated and important role of telehealth in care delivery. The pandemic has forced rapid adoption by providers, plans, and patients. This is a positive step for many reasons: more cost-efficient delivery of care, and much improved access and convenience for healthcare consumers.  However, low income populations have some of the lowest levels of adoption of telehealth services, so as healthcare adapts and new innovative care deliver approaches are developed, we must ensure the hard-to-reach are included in the shift to virtual care, and apply proven strategies for engaging these populations on topics that are important to their health.

Telehealth has been sold as an equalizer for disadvantaged and rural communities, but there are challenges with this. Safety net providers have been slower to adopt telehealth in comparison to larger health systems. Rural and community health clinics lack the funding to keep abreast with the latest technology, but also manage populations who lack internet coverage and/or are at poverty levels that prevent them from accessing the technology needed to connect virtually. 2019 data suggests only 50% of low-income households have home broadband, and over 30% of these households are smartphone-reliant for internet.

The low adoption of stable home internet and desktop/laptop computers in these populations means government-subsidized mobile phone programs must include smartphones with capabilities to support virtual visits. The data needed to support these visits must be included in the phone’s data plan, so patients are forced to decide whether to use their own mobile plan data to have a health consultation or connect with their friends through social media. And the telehealth platform itself must be a high-quality experience comparable to leading healthcare providers for any chance of success.

But providing the technology is not enough. As with almost all health services and benefits, awareness and education are critical for lasting adoption. Health plans and providers must invest in telehealth engagement, so that their members and patients know the service exists, how and when to access it, and provide support so they become fluent with the technology. All these potential barriers are accentuated with lower-income and culturally-diverse populations. But those populations must be areas of significant investment in engagement and education, if there is any chance of healthy equity in the new normal.

Top 5 Learnings From World Congress’ Medicaid Managed Care Conference

Posted on by Brendan McClure

Not making a decision is a decision itself. Kicking off the conference, Glenn Pomerantz from Gateway Health Plan and chairperson of the World Congress Medicaid Managed Care Conference, spoke of the challenges facing Medicaid and plans that continue with the status quo, and the dangers of failing to adapt to a shifting managed care landscape. Instead, bold decisions must be made to affect the change needed to reduce costs, while improving quality and the member experience.

These are my five bold decisions after attending the conference and presenting alongside Jason Thomas, Corporate Director of Special Projects and Facilities at Trusted Health Plan:

1. Focus resources on the biggest drivers of health

I learned that while socio-environmental factors, and the behaviors they drive, account for approximately 60% of factors that impact premature death, only 4% of a health plan’s operational spend focuses on these areas.

2. Create benefits that matter to members

Social isolation has a huge impact on health and many vulnerable and elderly members. Yet despite this, plan products rarely focus benefits on these areas. What would be the impact of providing a service where a home visit was made to take a member out for a neighborhood walk every week? How much more would the member value that over typical plan benefits?

3. Use the communication channels that members use

In response to mPulse’s presentation with Trusted Health Plan that explored conversational text messaging solutions, Glenn Pomerantz of Gateway Health Plan commented, “If we are doing our jobs properly, every plan should be using this channel.”

4. Focus on building relationships with members

In mPulse’s presentation I talked about conversations being the foundation for relationships. Through the use of conversational AI, Medicaid plans can now have meaningful conversations with their members at scale. Using this approach, plans can ask questions to understand the needs and challenges of their members and provide tailored support that provide them with the experience and support they value most.

5. Bridge digital and community

Trusted Health Plan built its success around a brick & mortar wellness strategy. Yet they realized they needed to do more to improve member engagement. Jason Thomas highlighted how they were able to use text messaging to engage members on key areas such as, redetermination and Wellchild visits. They also used messaging to connect members to their community. Trusted Health Plan used text messages to promote and drive attendance at important local events that created a powerful bridge between their digital engagement and community-focused strategies.

To schedule a meeting or demo, please email info@mpulse.com.

mPulse Mobile Is Bringing Rich Business Messaging to Healthcare  

Posted on by Brendan McClure

Positive change lies ahead for the humble text message. The default messaging on your phone is the most loved mobile communication channel by consumers (Americans send over 6 billion messages a day) but it has remained unchanged for over 25 years.  

Not any longer: enter rich business messaging (RBM), enhanced messaging experiences that incorporate branding, button-based functionality, and rich media that are delivered through the phone’s default messaging app. Consumers benefit from app-like functionality with no download needed.  

This is a communication game-changer. Apple and Android have their own versions of RBM—Apple Business Chat (ABC) and Rich Communication Service (RCS), respectively. Carriers and phone manufacturers have been working to align on messaging standards for RBM, which has slowed progress in recent years. However, recent announcements from Google and the carriers at the end of 2019 indicate the market will rapidly evolve in 2020.  

Rich Business Messaging presents is a major opportunity for healthcare organizations. Over the last 15 years, healthcare has struggled with app adoption and many healthcare companies have turned to text messaging due to the almost ubiquitous adoption and exceptionally high read rates. RBM is an advanced messaging service that combines the best of both worlds. In 2018, as part of Google’s early access partnership, mPulse introduced RCS to key healthcare partners and discussed the opportunity at the Mobile World Congress of Americas with representatives from Google, Sprint, GSMA and mPulse Mobile.  

The value was clear from a consumer engagement standpoint, and leading healthcare organizations were quick to launch proof of concepts. Read the press release here.  

ABC and RCS – What’s the Difference?  

Apple controls its own messaging ecosystem and its iMessage service is the foundation for Apple Business Chat – its business messaging platform. Apple is rolling out ABC in limited fashion, with only a handful of large consumer brands having access such as Home Depot and Hilton Hotels. Early examples suggest ABC will function as an inbound customer service channel. Apple has not ruled out adopting the RCS standard, and the mobile industry may force Apple to get aligned.  

RCS will likely have a bigger consumer impact as brands will leverage it for outbound as well as inbound interactions. It has been widely adopted in countries around the world where Android phones dominate, such as Japan, North and South Korea, and South America. The rollout of RCS in the US has been slow as the key players (Google, the phone manufactures, and the carriers) have sought alignment around a universal profile.  

Google took a bold move at the end of 2019 by making RCS available to all Android users through its Messages app. This circumnavigated the mobile phone carriers and was a response to a collaborative move by AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint to develop their own standard for RCS, which will be rolled out in 2020. As the dust settles, the end result looks to be widespread adoption of advanced RCS messaging by US Android phone owners in 2020. This represents a huge opportunity for healthcare organizations.  

The Opportunity for Healthcare Organizations  

mPulse is collaborating with leading healthcare organizations on their RBM strategy and is developing exciting programs that have the potential to transform how healthcare consumers engage. Whether it is commerce-based transactions like the program developed with Medtronic Diabetes for health supply reorders, or programs that leverage the rich media capabilities to improve awareness and utilization of health services, the possibilities are enormous.  As such, leading organizations are building RBM capabilities into their strategic member engagement solutions.  

To discuss RBM capabilities or how your organization can leverage rich business messaging, fill out the form here.  

mPulse Mobile and Carenet Health establish strategic partnership to strengthen healthcare consumer engagement

Posted on by Brendan McClure

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, August 13, 2019 – Carenet Health, a leading provider of healthcare engagement and telehealth solutions, and California-based mPulse Mobile, the leader in Conversational AI solutions for healthcare, are partnering to improve the effectiveness of patient and health plan member engagement.

John Erwin, Carenet Health CEO, said his organization sees how one-on-one personal connections can change lives every day, and text messaging is another powerful way to deliver the conversations that make those connections happen. “The synergy of the new partnership just makes sense,” he said.

“Augmenting our highly skilled engagement and clinical support teams with mPulse Mobile’s advanced technology will substantially boost success for health plans and providers. We already see a 20% to 30% minimum lift in performance over industry averages when our teams are leveraged in efforts such as closing HEDIS measure care gaps. Add in the efficiency and reach of AI-driven interactive texting, and we’re looking at even higher levels of consumer engagement and activation right away.”

mPulse Mobile Cofounder and CEO Chris Nicholson noted the two companies share a transformational vision for health engagement. “Healthcare succeeds when individual consumers are having their specific needs heard, understood and addressed. Carenet Health knows how to put consumers at the center of their care. When you combine this with mPulse’s ability to tailor automated conversations on mobile channels, we can create meaningful connections with hard-to-reach consumers. That means activating healthy behavior change at scale, without sacrificing that all-important empathy and consumer focus.”

The collaborative effort enhances Carenet’s ability to deliver high-quality, cost-effective, on-demand engagement and virtual care for the healthcare industry. Carenet supports 1 in 5 Americans—65 million lives—with its solutions.

mPulse Mobile will leverage the partnership to further expand its leadership in supporting impactful Conversational AI solutions across healthcare. Leading providers, population health organizations, health suppliers and payers—including Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans—use mPulse solutions to engage millions of consumers every day to improve quality ratings, assist benefit and service navigation, promote medication adherence and close gaps in care. 

About Carenet Health 

Carenet Health’s team of healthcare professionals works on behalf of 250 of the nation’s premier health plans, providers, health systems and Fortune 500 organizations. The company’s mission is to drive market-leading healthcare engagement outcomes through innovation and a proprietary Intelligent Engagement TM methodology. Carenet’s specialty solution areas include consumer engagement, telehealth, clinical support, and health advocacy and navigation solutions. Carenet is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. For more information, please visit carenethealthcare.com.

About mPulse Mobile

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 that helps healthcare organizations activate their consumers to adopt healthy behaviors. With over a decade of experience, 70+ healthcare customers and more than 200 million conversations annually, mPulse Mobile has the data, expertise, and solutions to drive healthy behavior change. For more information, visit mpulsemobile.com.

Media Contacts

Brendan McClure, 310-291-5469

brendan@mpulsemobile.com

Improving Patient Engagement in Pharmacy Operations Using Conversational AI

Posted on by Brendan McClure

Leading healthcare organizations from payers to IDNs, PBMs, specialty pharmacies, and hubs have recognized traditional programs for patient engagement are proving ineffective. Mail, telephonic and even app-based tools are not how the modern consumer prefers to communicate. Many consumers have experience engaging with ChatBots and Conversational Agents through automated conversations, and they are demonstrating a preference for this dialogue-based approach. Engaging with companies through messaging conversations is convenient, self-service tools delivered this way are more efficient and communications are tailored and relevant. A recent large cross-industry study found that 69% of consumers consider chatbots the preferred way to engage with businesses for quick answers to simple questions. The shift to conversational approaches for engaging consumers is also aligned to the widespread adoption of mobile phones. Mobile phone ownership is at 90% or above across all key population segments, including lower-income adults and seniors over the age 65.

What does this shift in how consumers prefer to engage mean for pharmacies?

The pharmacy industry is adapting to the rapid increase in specialty medications. These therapies have more complex dosing regimens, a higher potential for side-effects and require closer patient monitoring as a result. The generally higher costs of these medications also make demonstrating improved health outcomes and value critical. To ensure patients are successful, pharmacies must provide high-touch clinical support and they have large teams of support staff based in call centers to check-in, follow-up and assist with patients. But this becomes challenging when consumers are much more reluctant to answer telephone calls. Which is why conversational texting represents a huge opportunity for specialty pharmacies who want to maintain their high-touch approach, deliver it efficiently at scale, and leverage a consumer-preferred channel.

Leading pharmacy organizations have identified this opportunity and are leveraging conversational text messaging approaches to:

  • Improve chronic condition medication refill rates by 14PPs
  • Increase the number of touchpoints during therapy dosing period by over 3x
  • Reduce the average call wait time from 8 minutes to 90 seconds by diverting calls to the text channel

Click here to learn more about these outcomes and how Conversational AI programs improve patient outcomes in the pharmacy space.