Researchers: Arriel Benis ¹, Nissim Harel¹, Refael Barak Barkan¹, Einav Srulovici ², Calanit Key³

Background: Health organizations and patients interact with each other through different communication channels and have recently harnessed digital communications for this purpose.

Objectives: The objectives of this retrospective study are to assist the medical organization in improving and adapting, to the extent possible, the means of communication between patients and healthcare professionals. Improved communication includes improving patient access to healthcare professionals by expanding the capabilities of existing communication channels and introducing new ones.

Method: This is a data-based study that analyzes the information stored in electronic medical records (EMRs) and blogs that document access to different communication channels between patients and Clalit Health Services between the years 2008 and 2016. The study analyzed 311,168 patients with diabetes.

Findings: In this study we identified and characterized 13 media profiles of patients. We have shown how communication behavior is influenced by the means of communication that the health organization provides to the patient. We have quantified and shown how different patients respond differently to technological means of communication and change the way they communicate with the health organization based on the communication channels available to them. On the other hand, the new means of engagement do not change the way other patients are engaged. We have shown that some patients prefer to communicate with the organization by technological means and respond to text messages; others prefer to communicate with the physician and others with the nurse.

Conclusions: Identifying the channel of communication with the health organization and with the various healthcare professionals, which is preferred by each patient, creates an opportunity to convey messages adapted to the patient in the most appropriate communication channel.

Recommendations: The greater the likelihood that the therapeutic message will be received by the patient, the greater the patient's response to the treatment, and the better the health of the patient.

Research end date: 03/2020