4 Ways to Support Caregivers with Digital Health Solutions
In the modern and historical healthcare landscape, caregivers have always played a crucial yet often underappreciated role in the well-being of patients. A 2020 AARP report found one in five (21%) of American adults are caregivers. As the healthcare industry evolves, pharmaceutical brands have a valuable opportunity to broaden their focus and embrace this large demographic of caregivers alongside patients. At RxPx, we have already embraced this approach by integrating caregivers into our digital health solutions, ensuring they are an integral part of the patient’s health journey.
The Vital Role of Caregivers
Caregivers are the unsung heroes in the healthcare system, providing essential support that ranges from daily medication management to emotional encouragement. They often bridge the gap between the patient and healthcare providers, ensuring that treatment plans are followed and that the patient receives comprehensive care. By involving caregivers in the healthcare process, pharmaceutical brands can enhance medication adherence, improve patient outcomes, and reduce the overall burden on the healthcare system.
Below are 4 ways we work with partners to ensure caregivers can be wrapped into the digital circle of care.
1. Social Support: Community is vital for caregivers who often experience isolation and stress, with 36% of family caregivers reporting high levels of emotional stress. Creating opportunities to foster peer to peer connections can provide emotional support and practical advice for caregivers. RxPx’s social feed groups allow caregivers to interact with each other, share experiences, and offer mutual support. This peer connection is a vital component of our holistic approach to caregiver integration.
RxPx offers a dedicated social feed space exclusively for caregivers. During onboarding, caregivers are auto-joined to these groups based on their role, fostering a supportive community where they can share their experiences, valuable advice, and positive encouragement. This social community is significantly beneficial for all caregivers, but especially those who often face emotional and physical challenges.
2. Catering your Content Strategy: It’s essential that content strategies address the unique needs of caregivers. A significant 75% of caregivers have indicated that they want educational resources. Caregivers need tailored information to effectively support their loved ones while also taking care of themselves.This includes resources on managing stress, understanding medical conditions, and navigating the healthcare system.
“We’ve often seen brands direct their focus primarily around patients when drafting out their content and engagement strategies. It isn’t until they see low content engagement numbers that they start to consider that maybe caregivers should be their primary focus.
When it comes to engagement and education, it is imperative to fold caregivers into the mix. Caregivers typically need as much education and support as patients do, especially those who are stepping into the role of a caregiver for the first time,” states Valerie Stachurski, RxPx’s General Manager of Content and Marketing.
Our previous article “Is Your Patient Support Content Making an Impact” emphasized the importance of providing relevant and helpful content for caregivers and patients alike. Check it out if you’re looking to ensure your content strategy is hitting the mark.
3. Mental Health Tools: Mental health tools are critical for caregivers who often face significant emotional burdens. 23% of American caregivers say caregiving has made their own health worse. Tools that offer stress management techniques, access to counseling services, and mental health monitoring can make a substantial difference.
When selecting a digital health partner, ask them why types of tools can be integrated into the platform that support mental health, to ensure that patients and caregivers both are receiving the support they need to maintain well-being.
4. Embedded Caregiver Features: Design your solutions with caregivers in mind from the beginning and seek continuous feedback from caregivers to ensure you can improve your solutions to better suit their needs.
At RxPx, we have taken this approach and it’s evident in our solutions. The Patient Platform by RxPx is designed to enhance the health journey of patients by incorporating caregiver support. Patients can invite their caregivers to join their RxPx community, where once onboarded, they are granted read-only access to appointment and medication information, ensuring privacy and control over sensitive data. Caregivers receive notifications about upcoming appointments, guaranteeing they can help the patient prepare and attend.
To be sure that patients stay on track with their therapy plans and take their medication, RxPx offers SMS reminders that caregivers can receive when the patient hasn’t reported taking their medication. By subscribing to these reminders, caregivers can provide timely support, assisting with medication intake and enhancing the overall effectiveness of the treatment. Caregivers who are not app users can also stay informed through SMS reminders about medication schedules. Patients can add up to five caregivers to receive these reminders, ensuring a robust support network.
RxPx’s Holistic Approach to Caregiver Integration
We recognize the importance of caregivers and have developed digital solutions that explicitly cater to their needs. By integrating caregivers into our solutions, pharmaceutical brands can reach the caregiver audience while enhancing patient care and outcomes. Recognizing the critical role of caregivers and providing them with the tools and support they need not only benefits patients but also strengthens the overall healthcare ecosystem. RxPx’s comprehensive approach ensures that caregivers are active participants in the patient’s health journey, truly wrapping them into the circle of care.
If you would like to know more how RxPx solutions can support your goals, please schedule a demo with us here.
If you’d like to learn more about this topic, we invite you to download our free “Delivering Exceptional Patient Value eBook”.