Health & Family

As a working mother of three children, I am challenged each day to find the right balance for myself and my family. By balance I mean maintaining a healthy approach to our busy lives - physically, mentally, and spiritually. I will be the first to admit, on many days I feel defeated. And some days, I feel like a champion because I successfully guided my "troop" through the chaotic day and their lives were enhanced from the experience.

In today's world it is hard to achieve and maintain balance. Each day you wake up to another email, phone call or conversation that invites you to become involved in a new activity, attend a very important meeting, support a new great cause, or lend a hand to someone in need. With the world tugging at your leg each day, it is hard not to find yourself over-committed and overwhelmed. So, when asked a question such as "Do you prioritize health in your day?" it is tough to answer "Yes". In addition, I think you would be hard-pressed to find many mothers and fathers out there who would confidently say that their family's physical, mental, and spiritual health is at it's optimal level.

So, what if there was a way to help mothers and fathers prioritize their health in their day? For years, companies have been focused on helping their employees prioritize their health by providing great programs and resources to help them understand their health risks, manage these risks, and improve their quality of life. These programs are typically provided to employees and their familiy members, and sometimes retirees of the organization. Although some of these programs are best-in-class, state-of-the-art programs, families do not engage at the level to which we would hope. In essence, engagement is a challenge.

So, back to the family structure ... And the working mother-of-three, when asked "Why is it so hard to maintain balance in your day?" for me, it is well beyond understanding my health risks, knowing the programs available, and understanding how engaging in an activity will improve my quality of life. It is more about looking at each of the activities my family and I do, and identifying which ones contribute to a healthy life, and which ones simply negate these efforts. Could there be a health management program that can help families and parents do this in today's world? Be customized to reflect each families goals, interests and priorities? If so, would it be more effective than an exercise or weight program they cannot even consider fitting into their day because they are just getting through the day and all it's demands. Would it provide parents the ability to truly become more balanced, enabling them to make healthier choices.

I believe these are interesting questions.

Connectivity for Health

A few weeks ago I attended a healthcare conference and one of the keynote speakers mentioned the importance of technology in facilitating healthcare interactions with patients. In another session, the speaker described the relevance of understanding the key components of successful games to better understand what is necessary to build a successful online health experience for participants. While I was on Twitter yesterday, a world-renowned hospital posted a tweet about the value of social media for physicians.

Connectivity for health is a field that is only in its infancy. We are just beginning to understand how individuals make health decisions through consumer segmentation data, how one's culture can impact a person's likelihood to make behavior changes, how a social network can be used to facilitate and predict behavior change, and how individuals may adapt to new technologies as the access and use of these innovative tools become more prevalent.

The question is how the various stakeholders in the health arena will utilize this evolving medium of communication. Will healthcare choices and interventions feel more like Apps we download today? Will the physician-patient relationship ultimately change based on the use of technology and the access to healthcare information? Will healthcare consumers be guided through the maze of benefits and health management based on their personal needs, preferences and available resources captured through back-end technology? What role will the government, health plans, employers and vendors play in this evolving field?

I am not sure of the specific answers to these questions, but do know that the landscape of healthcare in the US is and will continue to change based on the technology available. Employers are looking for innovative solutions that "engage" their population in every aspect of their health. It is exciting to ponder the possibilities that new technologies will provide us, and overwhelming to contemplate how this changes the breath and depth of our efforts as healthcare professionals. Let's look at this as an opportunity to change how we have approached health management in the past, change how we implement health benefits, and better understand how technology can help individuals engage in their health on a daily basis.

What have you done to manage your health today? Did it involve the use of an App, website, online program, social network, text message? If not, could it have and would it have been more enjoyable, effective, and fun if it had? If it did, what were the reasons you engaged with the technology? Think about the possibilities we have upon us.