Leveraging Automated Patient Outreach To Address Social Determinants Of Health

The Indian healthcare system tends to be reactive, often leading patients to seek care only after symptoms appear. A significant portion of resources and efforts is directed towards treatment and therapies; however, around 90% of the factors that influence health outcomes remain largely unaddressed. According to the CDC, there are five key categories of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): healthcare access and quality, education access and quality, social and community context, economic stability, and neighborhood and built environments.

At Simbo.ai, we frequently emphasize the idea of ‘meeting the patient where they are.’ While this phrase may seem vague, it essentially represents a shift toward patient-centered care that recognizes individual barriers and healthcare needs throughout a patient’s journey, providing tools and support in an easily accessible manner. A patient-centric approach inherently takes these social determinants of health into account to effectively connect patients with appropriate healthcare resources. Economic and social conditions can intertwine at various stages of a patient’s healthcare experience, potentially creating a snowball effect. For instance, a person’s health challenges can present significant economic obstacles to accessing healthcare services. Furthermore, there is a strong link between education, healthcare access, and the level of trust specific communities have in medical systems. By understanding these social determinants of health and addressing them proactively during the care journey, we can enhance health outcomes and reduce health disparities. Naturally, this is a complex endeavor with no one-size-fits-all solution. However, the good news is that advancements in technology have greatly improved our ability to personalize healthcare and engage with diverse patient populations in various meaningful ways.

The digital front door serves as an integrated digital experience designed to educate and empower patients on their healthcare journeys. At Simbo.ai, our digital front door solution features a variety of conversational modules, such as symptom checkers, care recommendations, and escalation centers, among others. These digital tools are invaluable in supporting patients from different social and economic backgrounds. The success of this digital entry point for patients impacted by various social determinants of health lies within an effective outreach strategy.

With a digital front door solution, healthcare organizations can effectively reach consumers through automated outreach, helping to close care gaps associated with routine screenings, annual exams, vaccinations, and more. Simbo.ai Outreach empowers healthcare organizations to pinpoint patient populations and craft personalized, proactive campaigns that include appointment scheduling, reminders, treatment follow-ups, educational reinforcement, and more. The multi-channel and multilingual features of Simbo.ai are key to effectively engaging patients and opening their digital front door. Over the past year, we have observed that gaps in care have worsened, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected low-income and minority communities that have traditionally faced challenges regarding healthcare quality and access. These disparities continued during the vaccine rollout.

One healthcare organization leveraged Simbo.ai Outreach to disseminate targeted communication to specific populations, providing personalized vaccine education and scheduling guidance in response to these challenges. This strategy effectively meets patients where they are by considering the diverse social and economic circumstances they face while standardizing the level of support offered to each individual.