Salesforce Unveils New Health Cloud Features for Patient Lifestyle Integration and Personalized Care at HIMSS19

From February 11 to 15, the 2019 HIMSS Global Conference & Exhibition (hereinafter referred to as HIMSS19) was held in Orlando, Florida, USA. As one of the most influential large-scale exhibitions in the healthcare information technology industry worldwide, it attracted 45,000 attendees, including healthcare IT professionals, clinicians, healthcare administrators, government policymakers, and corporate representatives from more than 90 countries around the globe.

At this week-long industry event, attendees will share the latest products, educational resources, and networking opportunities, while gaining insights from world-class experts.

To further solidify its foothold in the healthcare sector, global customer relationship management (CRM) company Salesforce unveiled three new features for its Health Cloud system at the HIMSS19 conference:Focus on the social determinants of health affecting patients, provide home care, and deliver personalized patient care experiences, aiming to provide better and more comprehensive medical services.

The first new feature of Health Cloud, which focuses on the social determinants of health that impact patient well-being, enables healthcare providers to access information related to patients’ living conditions, including transportation options, housing status, and care networks. Salesforce stated that healthcare providers can leverage this data to deliver personalized or preventive medications to patients.

Dr. Joshua Newman, Chief Medical Officer at Salesforce, stated, “People’s health status is largely determined not by ‘what medical services or medications they receive,’ but by ‘who they are, how they feel, whether they can eat normally, what modes of transportation they typically use, and whether their rent is due.’ However, these social determinants of health are often not recognized by caregivers because the systems for tracking and addressing these determinants are siloed within electronic health record (EHR) systems, usually require manual updates, and are not particularly user-friendly.”

“Our platform can analyze a variety of scenarios, identify risks, and provide recommendations. More importantly, we are beginning to fill the gap in ‘addressing the social determinants of health characteristics’ and tackling these issues,” added Dr. Newman.

The second feature of the Health Cloud system focuses on mobile-first home care collaboration. Designed to help caregivers extend care into patients’ homes and break down care silos, this feature includes an element called Field Service Lightning, which connects home care organizations with patients’ other healthcare providers, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing patient health, adherence, and medical outcomes.

“For example, care providers seeking to manage patients’ risk of readmission can use our platform to determine whether patients have access to transportation or the financial means to purchase healthy food,” said Dr. Joshua Newman. “Similarly, life sciences organizations aiming to help patients adhere to treatment regimens or correctly use medical devices can assess patients’ employment status and living arrangements, thereby enabling them to provide necessary financial support and in-home care services.”

“Healthcare providers can gain a comprehensive understanding of patients’ conditions without requiring them to visit the hospital. Meanwhile, home-based care is more cost-effective, and many people prefer receiving care at home. Therefore, the ability to deliver medical services in patients’ homes represents a significant advantage, and I believe this will become a trend in the future,” said Dr. Joshua Newman.

The third new feature, personalized patient care, integrates Health Cloud and Salesforce Marketing Cloud to enable healthcare providers to deliver personalized care for each patient. This feature can monitor clinical and non-clinical engagement, create lists, and send targeted emails.

“Salesforce is committed to achieving interoperability across platforms, and through three new features in Health Cloud, it is providing healthcare providers and patients with a more extensive connectivity network—a task we must accomplish now.”

(Compiled by Cheng Xiaoqin)