Team Name: Medgate
Date of Interview: October 20, 2016 Conducted By: Christine Interviewee: Lily & Kevin, retired couple Why/how we interviewed this person: What are retired folks using for health insurance if they are not yet qualified for medicare? What hypothesis did we test? Retired folks not yet eligible for medicare would find value in our service/product to drive down premiums We really wanted to learn about this: What type of information would they be willing to provide? What forum would they be willing to use? We learned from the interview: Insurance premiums are high and they would very much like something to help reduce costs. However, they want to ensure that the forms are simple and the platform is easy to use. They are good with emails and texts so something to that level of complexity would be feasible. They also wouldn't like their names to be attached to information and are skeptical about some of the more private questions about diseases and more personal illnesses. We were surprised by: The information that they would like to track (i.e. medications, blood pressure and cholesterol trends). Other interesting outcomes; what did you learn about interviewing They're not sure how they would utilize the fitness trackers. They do individual exercises (i.e. go on walks) or golf to not get their heart rates up too high due to an existing heart condition. So how does that get tailored to the individual so they can still participate even if their activity level has to stay low?
0 Comments
Team Name: Medgate
Date of Interview: October 19, 2016 Conducted By: Samantha Interviewee: Rachel, 42 years old, pharmaceutical rep, 22 year smoker. Why/how we interviewed this person: I wanted to know if there was a corporate wellness program available for her, and if she has tried to use it to quit smoking. What hypothesis did we test? If a corporate wellness program is available, employees will use it to improve their health. We really wanted to learn about this: Who uses or doesn’t use their corporate wellness programs and why? Is it information accessibility, social pressures, incentives, organizational support? We learned from the interview: Rachel had briefly looked into the smoking cessation program offered through her employer. She felt it was too confusing to set up, there was a lack of support in company culture to set up appointments with a health coach, and lack of motivation. She also wondered where her medical information would go, and how accessible it was to insurance and employers when she signed up for the program. She felt that it would be more useful to have a group of people going through the smoking cessation program together, to have support and know others were fighting the same battle. She also felt it would be helpful if work was more supportive by creating more flexibility in her schedule to attend meetings with a coach. We were surprised by: The lack of support from her employer. They offer the program, but there seems to be resistance in allowing employees to take the time needed to make a positive change in their health. Other interesting outcomes; what did you learn about interviewing The reasons given for not participating were interesting. It made me think of our ideas for the app to have “nudges” to remind the client of the healthy choices to make throughout the day. The app creates a platform where people can engage and have coaching reminders without having to take the time away from work. Through interviewing, it has been easier to come up with new questions based on the person’s responses. This helps us to get a fresh perspective in potential value adds for our project. Team Name: Medgate
Date of Interview: October 20, 2016 Conducted By: Christine Interviewee: Tina, Recently laid off from corporation. Why/how we interviewed this person: I wanted to know what she did for medical insurance after she got laid off and if she would find value in a product/service like we're hypothesizing. What hypothesis did we test? If private insurers would exchange medical information for incentives or reduced premiums We really wanted to learn about this: What are limitations people have towards providing their medical information? We learned from the interview: After Tina was laid off, she spent a lot of time researching independent health care coverage. She had to do a lot to find a plan that would work for her needs and budget. She reached out to a lot of companies but ultimately still had to pay about 3x what she did when she received coverage through her work. Therefore, she would be open to providing medical insurance if it would help reduce her premium. However, she would want to stay anonymous and, even so, may be reluctant to provide certain types of information. We were surprised by: There is a time value to money factor. For example, if she gets only $10 for spending 30 minutes on a survey, she wouldn't be motivated to complete it. Other interesting outcomes; what did you learn about interviewing For the fitness tracking side of things, she'd like more options, including the ability to get credit for exercising at home. She doesn't have a gym membership because of the cost and gets an equally good workout following videos at home. Tina also noted that we should be cautious with controlling how information is provided. Data accuracy is important and finding ways to ensure the integrity of the data users are inputting will be key if we want to be able to sell the information to insurance companies. Team Name - Medical Gatekeeper
nterviewee - Ratna Reddy Date of Interview - 10/18/2016 Java Developer. Interviewer - Abhijeeth Linganagari Why/how we interviewed this person? Ratna has been living in Virginia for over a decade and works for a company that contracts of the Fed. Ratna has her family insured under her employer provider insurance. We wanted to see how she would feel about our product. (Phone Interview) What hypothesis did we test? Outside of silicon valley and the west coast tech cities, individuals do not have good wellness or health incentive programs to participate in. We really wanted to learn about this: If individuals working in the US outside of the tech cities would be interested in participating in wellness or health incentive programs that reward them for updating their current health records/tests and participating in journeys to improve their health. We learned from this interview: Though the overall reception to the idea of gaining incentives by sharing health records was positive, there was lingering suspicion on data security and concerns of being discriminated by insurances/employers at some point. She also liked the idea of maintaining a health summary form, which she could share with new health care provider physicians and would relieve her from filling up forms for every new visit. We were surprised by: It was surprising that she was more ready to pay a monthly subscription fee for the services rather than share her medical data with insurance providers. Other interesting outcomes; what did you learn about interviewing It was interesting to note that though Ratna and her husband’s primary care physicians maintain a health portal through which they can access their records, her children’s pediatricians clinic does not have an online portal and she needs to maintain physical copies of all their health records. This is cumbersome and she would appreciate having a portal that she can scan her documents into. It was interesting that she wasn’t aware of products that could help her do this. Team Name - Medical Gatekeeper
Interviewee - Sridham Date of Interview - 10/17/2016 IT Consultant. Interviewer - Abhijeeth Linganagari Why/how we interviewed this person? Sridham has been doing IT Consulting over the past 5 years and working with different clients across the east coast. We interviewed Sridham to get more insight into how his experience has been. (Phone Interview) What hypothesis did we test? Outside of silicon valley and the west coast tech cities, individuals do not have good wellness or health incentive programs to participate in. We really wanted to learn about this: If individuals working in the US outside of the tech cities would be interested in participating in wellness or health incentive programs that reward them for updating their current health records/tests and participating in journeys to improve their health. We learned from this interview: Sridham was very receptive to the idea of getting incentives by participating in wellness programs. He did not have concerns with sharing medical record data with insurance providers and was enthusiastic that he could get some incentive out of it. We were surprised by: Although he maintains the same insurance today, it was surprising for him to say he was able to access his medical records from a healthcare provider he last visited couple years ago (his login info was still working). Usually the login shouldn’t have worked. He wasn’t aware that he might lose access any time soon. Other interesting outcomes; what did you learn about interviewing Sridham brought out an interesting point that Walgreens and CVS already give discount coupons etc; for recurring customers, so was interested to know what extra incentives he could get by using our product. Team Name: Medgate
Date of Interview: Oct 11, 2016 Conducted By: Joe Interviewee: Rose Why/how we interviewed this person: In person, working professional Generation X with kids and grandkids What hypothesis did we test? That people will be hesitant to share additional medical information with insurance companies We really wanted to learn about this: Would there be a difference in willingness to share information between different generations We learned from the interview: Rose receives her healthcare through her company, which does not offer any incentives. She does not have any health related goals that she tracks with her doctor. She would be willing to share information with her health insurance company for a 10% or better discount. Her husband and 3 of her kids are still on her insurance, so it is a larger cost than for most. We were surprised by: I was personally surprised by her willingness to share information. I did not expect older generations (who I may have wrongly assumed valued privacy more than younger generations) to be as willing to provide non-mandatory health data. Team Name: Medgate
Date of Interview: Oct 8, 2016 Conducted By: Joe Interviewee: Andrew Why/how we interviewed this person: In person, high-earning millennial What hypothesis did we test? That people will be hesitant to share additional medical information with insurance companies We really wanted to learn about this: How someone who could be considered “wealthy” would react to these ideas We learned from the interview: I really did not learn much from this interview. Andrew receives his health insurance through his company that provides no incentives. He also does not regularly visit a doctor nor have any specific health goals or plans. We were surprised by: The big takeaway from the interview was that Andrew stated he would not want to share his health information with his insurance company because he did not view his insurance costs to be “material.” Team Name: Medgate
Date of Interview: Oct 11, 2016 Conducted By: Joe Interviewee: Eric Why/how we interviewed this person: Via phone call, works for a start-up in the Bay Area What hypothesis did we test? That people will be hesitant to share additional medical information with insurance companies We really wanted to learn about this: An idea of how health insurance works in the start-up space versus other companies We learned from the interview: Eric has health insurance through his start-up. They do not offer any incentive plans. Eric is a very health-conscious individual, having previously produced a documentary about childhood obesity. He has personal health goals. He tracks his weight, diet, and body composition. He weighs himself every day, and records it on a calendar. He has a spreadsheet where he’s detailed his diet, and takes a DEXA body composition test once every 5-6 weeks. He doesn't work with my MD on his health goals. He would be happy to share his data with his insurance company for a discount. We were surprised by: With how health-conscious he was, Eric was intrigued by the idea of a discount on his health insurance. Additionally, he was intrigued by how insurance companies would use the data and interested in other ways the data could be used to help improve societal health and education. Team Name: Medgate
Date of Interview: Oct 10, 2016 Conducted By: Joe Interviewee: Clifton Why/how we interviewed this person: Via phone call, student health insurance rather than company or government supplied What hypothesis did we test? That people will be hesitant to share additional medical information with insurance companies We really wanted to learn about this: That a student will be more willing to share information as they have more budget constraints We learned from the interview: Clifton has health insurance through his school, however, they do not offer any incentive plans. He is working towards health goals that he has set himself and tracks his progress through iPhone apps. He does not regularly visit a doctor, and as such, the doctor does not regularly track his progress. All of this being said, Clifton said he would gladly share all of his information with his insurance company for a 25% or greater discount. He also caveated that if he were to become sick that he would not be as willing to share information. We were surprised by: Clifton had concerns that insurance companies would start charging premiums for people who do not share information. Team Name: Medgate
Date of Interview: Oct 10, 2016 Conducted By: Joe Interviewee: Ian Why/how we interviewed this person: Via phone call, entrepreneur with health history What hypothesis did we test? That people will be hesitant to share additional medical information with insurance companies We really wanted to learn about this: We wanted to understand the feelings towards insurance incentives and information We learned from the interview: Ian has insurance through his company, however, he does not partake in any of the incentives offered. In addition, his doctor has given him health-related goals but is not tracking regularly. Ian would not share additional health information or tracking data with his health insurance company because he has a pre-existing heart condition and would be afraid that the insurance company would use the information to his detriment. We were surprised by: While Ian says he would love to pay less for health insurance, especially as an entrepreneur with uncertain income, he believes the downside of sharing the information is far greater than potential savings. |
Archives |