Table 1 Example: optimizing after-visit summaries
From: Online randomized controlled experiments at scale: lessons and extensions to medicine
In the online space, we learned that small changes ranging from making the website faster to changing font colors can meaningfully affect how a user interacts with a product or service, dramatically impacting key metrics, including revenue [3, 19]. | |
In medicine, with the increasing use of electronic health records, after-visit summaries (AVS) are increasingly used, providing patients with relevant and actionable information similar to traditional patient handouts with a goal of increasing patient compliance and understanding. | |
Given that goal: | |
• What channel should the AVS use (e.g., paper letter, email, mobile notification) to increase patient engagement? | |
• When should the summary be sent? Is there a time of day or day of week (e.g., Friday) when the patient is more likely to engage with the AVS? | |
• What text in the message might motivate patients to follow the link? Can we test how to reduce the friction of getting a user to sign-in and view the AVS once they click on a link? How can we reduce the steps required to see the summary? | |
• In the AVS summary itself, how is the information presented? Do some layouts improve engagement? Should we present checklists? Reminders? Offer tools (e.g., mobile apps) that can help compliance? | |
• There is an increasing focus on the importance of social determinants of health outcomes, so what can we do in terms of sharing the visit summaries with caretakers, be it family members or friends? | |
Similar types of questions can be applied in the medical system, and these are exactly the types of questions that online controlled experiments are designed and already used for [20]. |