By Joey Friedman
December 20, 2023
Executive Summary
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced its mission to increase initiatives that address the maternal health crisis and work toward better health outcomes for pregnant patients1. Luminate Health and PathGroup, a lab focused on Women’s Health testing operating across a 25-state region, in conjunction with the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), have developed and begun a maternal health project that supports HHS’ commitment to improve the overall care of maternal patients through improved patient access to maternal health records and health education. The project consists of a targeted maternal health wellness campaign, new and accessible patient education, and tracking metrics to measure the program’s success.
Context of Maternal Health in the US
The urgency in addressing the maternal health crisis is punctuated further by the maternal mortality rate (the death of 1 pregnant patient for every 100,000 live births), which in the United States has continually worsened each year since the 1990s2. Pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. have almost doubled since 2018, increasing from a maternal mortality rate of 17.4 in 2018 to 32.9 in 20213. Of these deaths, Black, Indigenous and Hispanic patients have consistently suffered the most statistically dramatic increase in maternal mortality rate over time 4,1.
Project Overview
The Maternal Health Program was designed to facilitate ease of access for an expectant mother to view a longitudinal record of testing before, during, and after a patient’s
pregnancy through the use of the MyResults Patient Portal. The MyResults Patient Portal is the portal powered by Luminate Health available for all PathGroup patients. Those patients who have an enabled MyResults Patient Portal account through PathGroup laboratory services, are provided with standard testing protocols and education as part of managing a healthy pregnancy.
Together, Luminate Health and PathGroup developed a targeted maternal health wellness campaign that supports closing the loop on significant maternal health challenges. After determining a target population (patients with a MyResults Patient Portal account who have had pregnancy-related testing within the past year and have opted in for further communication), the teams released emails directed at this target population. The emails pointed patients to new website pages featuring health information resources available to all MyResults users; “My Health Resources” and “My Prenatal Health.”
Within the “My Health Resources” page, patients can find the “My Prenatal Health” page. The “My Prenatal Health” page is designed to give patients helpful information surrounding pre and postnatal testing their doctor may consider ordering. The information is organized by trimester stages, including post-delivery.
In the center of each page, there are universal resources such as The National Mental Health Hotline and the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline that provide additional support for pregnant patients. The “My Prenatal Health” page includes links that direct patients to the PathGroup “Women’s Health” page, connecting patients to testing available to them through PathGroup. Lastly, the page links patients to their MyResults Patient Portal account, where, after testing, they can see a record of their test results in one accessible and secure platform.
This project is ongoing, which means that PathGroup will continue to have a direct effect on maternal health patients by keeping them up to date on testing protocols and information throughout current and future pregnancies.
Focus on Patient Education and Lab Results
“Key interventions to improve maternal health outcomes include… providing patient education on early warning signs for medical complications of pregnancy”4. Access to patient-geared education and personalized health analytics increases a patient’s ability to ask questions and discuss potential current and future health risks. Patients who are registered with PathGroup’s MyResults Patient Portal have access to easy-to-understand educational content. The educational material is derived from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. It helps patients understand which lab tests at various pregnancy stages are critical in supporting a healthy pregnancy.
Easy-to-use platforms such as the MyResults Patient Portal are the most efficient, accurate and accessible ways for patients to monitor their health, as well as share their longitudinal health information with any provider. Having a history of health information is critical for providers and patients to make the best possible healthcare decisions.
Improved access to lab results and patient education are shown to increase patient engagement with health data. Patients who are more engaged with their health data gain access to critical health information and can make better-informed decisions, leading to better health outcomes across patient populations.
New Developments, Success Metrics and Outcomes
The creation of the “My Lab Resources” page within the MyResults Patient Portal introduces the capability for PathGroup to proceed with more disease-specific educational resources and wellness campaigns. Over time, the page can feature patient education on multiple diseases and health conditions. This continuous effort will connect more people to health education that will empower them to make educated health choices.
The targeted maternal health wellness email campaign achieved markedly higher success rates than industry averages. We calculated three important metrics here: open rate, click-to-open rate, and click-through rate. The image below compares our program’s rates to industry averages. Overall, this maternal health email campaign successfully reached substantially more patients than a typical healthcare campaign.
Our team tracked user click paths throughout a three-month period to understand the effectiveness of the email campaign. Within those three months, emails were sent to 515 unique users; 171 of those users then logged into the MyResults patient portal while 164 users visited the My Prenatal Health page and reviewed educational content. Those numbers demonstrate that 33.2% of patients who received a targeted educational email went on to access the resources represented in the email message. We see this as a reflection that patients are interested in engaging with health resources and information.
Conclusive Thoughts
When patients have a digital platform for their medical test results they can better understand and manage their health. In combination with appropriate patient education and resources, labs and health information systems can contribute to better patient health outcomes. Our Maternal Health Program has brought education and information directly to patients and has helped HHS further its mission to increase initiatives that address the maternal health crisis and work toward better health outcomes for pregnant patients. Recorded click paths and rates of emails opened reflect that many of the patients who received these resources further decided to access the information available through the MyResults My Health Resources and the My Prenatal Health pages. Targeting relevant populations, creating appropriate resources, and tracking patient online usage are techniques that health technology companies can utilize to contribute to improved patient outcomes.
About Luminate Health and PathGroup
About Luminate Health:
Luminate Health is the leading patient engagement and analytics company for the diagnostics market. Luminate works with commercial and hospital labs across the country to unlock the value of lab data to patients, providers, and other key stakeholders in the healthcare industry.
Today, millions of patients use the Luminate platform to access, manage, and understand their lab results. Our integrated approach closes gaps in care and allows our partners to stay connected with their patients through their healthcare journey.
Together with our lab partners, we’re advancing patient care and disease management through lab results.
For more information, visit luminatehealth.com
About PathGroup:
Founded in 1965, PathGroup is a premier provider of anatomic, clinical, molecular, and digital pathology services in the United States. Privately held and physician-centric, PathGroup works seamlessly with customers to provide superior diagnostic services – a vital link in the cycle of patient relationships.
PathGroup uses the latest in proprietary and industry standard technology to deliver fast, accurate results. The company provides clients with the highest quality of services available, consistently exceeding the expectations of physicians, employees, payers, and most importantly, patients. One Lab; Total Service.
For more information, visit pathgroup.com.
Sources:
- https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/09/27/part-hhs-maternal-health-day-action-biden-harris-administration-announces-more-than-103-million-launches-new-initiatives-address-maternal-health-crisis.html
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5177465/
- https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality/2021/maternal-mortality-rates-2021.htm#ref2
- https://publications.aap.org/neoreviews/article-abstract/20/10/e561/92014/Maternal-Mortality-in-the-United-States-Updates-on
