The Higi Healthcare Blog
At risk population seeks out Higi despite discomfort with in-person care
The Higi platform is designed to quickly assess population health trends, doing so by collecting de-identified health data from 10,000 locations across the country. When market trends indicated that our users would be interested in learning more about their health and Covid-19, we quickly launched a survey-based program on our station to collect sentiment and health risk data.
We know from the market that people are avoiding care, sometimes at their risk of their health. 38% of responders to our on-station survey told us they did not feel safe getting in person healthcare, yet the majority of sessions were indicative of risk. Of those who participated in the survey and completed a blood pressure test, 65% had a reading in the hypertensive range, of those that measured weight, over 70% fell into the overweight or obese category.
The opportunity: health plan and health system partner can leverage our platform to educate consumers about the importance maintaining health, even during Covid. They can share solution to deliver care outside of the hospital setting and inform decision making processes when in person care may be needed.
A routine health screening at the pharmacy lead to a life-changing diagnosis
For Angelo, screening at the Higi Health Station was nothing new – he’s a regular at his Rite Aid pharmacy and is in the habit of using Higi to measure and track his blood pressure. His relationship with his pharmacist – and having access to a Higi Smart Health Station in that trusted setting – helped to get him the care he needed. When his pharmacist noticed his readings were out of range, Angelo and the pharmacist were able to sit down and talk about his health, leading Angelo to seek and receive care right away.
Over 60% of the users on the Higi platform have a health reading that indicates a care need.
Watch the video: https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/pharmacy-champions
For a pharmacy partner: The Higi Smart Health Station added value to every store trip for the patient and helped strengthen the relationship between patient and trusted pharmacy partner
For a health system partner: Health System partners have the ability to connect consumers to care resources, and in the case of Angelo, refer him to a cardiogist and receive his data longitudinally into an existing workflow for a better informed conversation, leading to diagnosis and ongoing care
Baltimore woman credits Higi and her local JCC with saving her life
The formula is simple: greater access to care leads to earlier interventions and better outcomes. For Jackie, this access was enabled through the placement of a Higi Station in her local JCC from two trusted healthcare partners: LifeBridge Health, a Baltimore health system, and the American Heart Association. The two collaborated to provide the Higi Smart Health Station in their community. The journey for Jackie started with an educational message about heart attack and stroke awareness, leading her to learn a little bit about her own health by completing a screening. And there are so many more Jackies out there. Each year, across the Higi network, we capture over 630,000 hypertensive crisis readings - that’s 630,000 opportunities for a care provider to take immediate action.
Watch Jackie’s story here: https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2019/05/07/national-stroke-month-may/
For a health system partner: Higi identified a high-risk consumer as part of a community strategy and helped connect that consumer to care at their system
For a Medicare Plan partner: Placing a Higi Station where members go helped to identify and address a health need before it became costly and difficult to manage
Welcome to the Higi Healthcare Blog!
Welcome to the Higi Healthcare Blog and thanks for joining us! We believe that everyone has the right to better health and that the journey begins by meeting people where they are, on their terms and providing tools and resources that help them take the next steps. That next step is different for everyone – it could be as simple as an informative message about a common health condition and the steps that person can take to reduce their risk; it could be a means to measure health numbers and ask a trusted pharmacist what those numbers mean; it could be a referral to a partner who can help address a specific concern, provide support or offer a diagnosis; it could be an ongoing, sustained relationship with a care provider that helps track health data over time and monitors progress and health outcomes. The journey is different for everyone and it can always start with Higi. We reach people in the communities where they live through our network of 10,000 Smart Health Stations alongside web and mobile tools and help them take the next step. Over 62 million people have used our platform to complete more than 372 tests, and those numbers get bigger by the second.
Our platform is built to understand and address the health needs of consumers and then connect them with the healthcare organizations – providers, health plans, retail healthcare and consumer healthcare brands – who can address their health needs. We work on their behalf and provide scaled solutions that reach and educate consumers, identify health risks, issues and needs, connect those consumers to social and clinical care resources and drive strategies that support ongoing health engagement.
In this blog, we’ll highlight stories of healthcare better connected, showcase the power of our network to collect actionable health data and share insights from healthcare leaders at Higi and beyond. Come back any time!