For patients and healthcare providers alike, finding the optimal treatment for complex disease states such as prostate cancer is of the utmost importance. However, disparate health records maintained by different providers can introduce obstacles for patients seeking more control over their care and treatment options. To overcome this challenge, streamline care, and achieve better patient outcomes, providers and patients can turn to decision-making tools aided by artificial intelligence (AI), such as WHYZE Health AI Data as a Serice Platform.
In a recent pilot study, in conjunction with the Health Innovation Hub Ireland Open Call 2022, Blackrock Health Group – Galway Clinic WHYZE Health sought to evaluate how the AI-aided DaaS Platform delivers informed prostate cancer care plans. The platform, guided by patient health data, test results, and patient outcomes captured for the entire patient health journey, enables providers to tailor treatment options to their patients’ needs. Patients, empowered by the intuitive interface and easy-to-use tools, gain access to treatment information, enabling a more informed treatment choice, Let’s dive into some of the key findings from the study that highlight the success of WHYZE Health’s patient-centric Platform design.
1. Inspiring Confidence in Long-Term Health Outcome Awareness
Lives can be transformed when patients feel they have control over their health and are involved in the decision-making process. In addition, previous research has demonstrated that patients are generally more satisfied with the treatment they receive, have fewer regrets about healthcare decisions, and make fewer complaints when treatment options align with what matters to them.
The pilot study revealed that patients expressed a high level of confidence in their long-term health outcome awareness when the WHYZE Health AI-Aided Platform was employed by their doctor. In fact, 74.3% of participants reported that they felt extremely informed, while another 16.2% felt moderately informed not sure if this statistic is driving a positive message. This indicates that AI-aided decision-making tools positively impact treatment decisions.
2. Simplifying Treatment Evaluation
Missing or incomplete patient health data can make it difficult for providers and patients to choose the right course of treatment. Fortunately, the WHYZE Health AI-Aided DaaS Platform has made it easier for patients and doctors to evaluate prostate cancer treatment options. Patients had an extremely positive reception, with 85.6% reporting that they felt the Platform would make it easy to evaluate treatment options following diagnosis. The AI-enabled WHYZE Health platform’s ability to aid the physician’s evaluation of treatment choices indicates its capacity to enhance patient outcomes while involving patients in their healthcare journey and treatment plans.
3. Easing Patient Anxiety
Understandably, beginning treatment for a complex and potentially life-threatening disease can be frightening to many patients. Thus, providing the right information and compassionate support is essential for doctors guiding patients through treatment options. When doctors opted to use the WHYZE Health AI DaaS platform for treatment decision-making, there was a positive trend amongst patients that indicated low levels of anxiety.
Out of the participants, only 1.3% felt extreme anxiety, while 45.2% did not feel anxious, and 37% only reported feeling somewhat anxious. The low percentage of participants reporting extreme anxiety is indicative that many patients are open to and accepting of the platform’s role in assisting their doctors with treatment choices, which is a promising sign for the platform’s integration into healthcare decision-making processes.
4. Facilitating Involvement in Treatment Progress
When patients are encouraged to take an active role in their treatments, they find this involvement critical to their treatment journey. During the study period, patients responded to questionnaires about their treatment progress, like Patient Reported Outcomes Forms.
Most study participants placed great value in this involvement, with 98.7% indicating that it was of considerable importance to them. This data highlights the significance of incorporating such assessments into the healthcare journey to ensure a comprehensive understanding of a patient’s health status during their treatment.
5. Strengthening Provider-Patient Communication
Just as patients valued the opportunity to share their treatment journey through various assessments, patients also sought to develop strong communication with their healthcare providers. 94.6% of study participants reported that sharing treatment responses was highly important to them. This indicates that the majority of patients felt that patient-provider communication plays an integral role in the healthcare journey and recognized the importance of fostering open and transparent dialogues between patients and their healthcare professionals to ensure the best possible outcomes.
6. Maintaining Data Security
With the Zero Trust Model Security platform used to share sensitive health information, it’s only natural that patients would want to ensure that the platform is capable of maintaining data security. Participants revealed that they had confidence in the security of the WHYZE Health platform, with 98.6% expressing confidence in the platform’s data security measures. Only 1.4% lacked confidence in security measures.
Participants displayed a high level of trust in WHYZE Health’s commitment to maintaining the security of their healthcare data. The positive response from the majority of participants underscores the importance of robust data security measures in healthcare technology solutions and the significance of instilling confidence in patients regarding data privacy and protection. Seeking further feedback from the minority of participants expressing lower confidence could provide valuable insights for enhancing data security measures and addressing specific concerns.
7. Enhancing Data-Sharing and Collaboration
Evaluating patient data can provide valuable insights that can inform treatment options for similar patients and influence global health research. When data is anonymised, study participants display an overwhelming willingness to share this health data. To improve diagnosis, treatment decisions, and outcomes for patients similar to them, 96% of patients said they were likely or highly likely to share their health data. To advance science and benefit global health, 98.7% of patients expressed an interest in sharing their health data.
With no patients unwilling to share their health data, this reflects a strong commitment to advancing medical knowledge and improving healthcare outcomes on a broader scale, aligning with data sharing and collaboration principles that underlie the WHYZE Health AI DaaS platform. In addition, it demonstrates the potential for the WHYZE Health AI DaaS platform to facilitate data sharing for the collective benefit of patients and healthcare decision-making.
8. Empowering Access to Health Records
When patients are educated and informed, they have the power to make better healthcare decisions. Empowering patients requires giving them the tools and resources to access their health records. With the WHYZE Health platform, 98.6% of participants expressed that they felt empowered to varying degrees by being able to access their health records.
These findings indicate that the vast majority of participants recognised the empowerment that comes with accessing their medical records. The positive response reinforces the value and impact of the WHYZE Health platform, which aims to empower patients by giving them ownership and control over their health information. The feedback suggests that such a move can be crucial in enabling patients to make more informed and proactive decisions about their health.
Ultimately, this pilot study sheds light on how returning decision-making power to patients can transform healthcare. As a Data as a Service platform, integrated with AI-aided decision-making, WHYZE Health provides a valuable link between providers, patients, and researchers. When such technology is adopted across the healthcare landscape, it has the potential to deliver effective treatment plans, reduce diagnostic timelines, and improve patient outcomes.