How Advocate Health Boosted Patient Engagement Without Overloading Clinicians: A FHIR-Powered Success Story

Introduction

Balancing patient engagement with clinician workload is a constant challenge in healthcare. But Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the U.S., cracked the code. By leveraging FHIR-enabled automation and seamless EHR integration, they achieved a 30% lift in patient engagement for pediatric well-child exams—all while reducing burdens on clinicians and IT teams. Here’s how they did it, and what your organization can learn from their success.

The Challenge: Information Overload and Clinician Burnout

- Problem: Manual workflows forced clinicians to trigger and manage patient education, adding administrative tasks to already stretched schedules.

- IT Bottlenecks: Patient experience projects often languished at the bottom of IT priority lists, delayed by system upgrades or migrations.

- Patient Disengagement: Families turned to unreliable sources (e.g., TikTok) for health information, risking misinformation.

The Solution: FHIR + EHR Integration for Smarter Automation

Advocate partnered with Xealth, a digital health platform, to create a personalized patient journey powered by Epic EHR data and FHIR/HL7 standards. Here’s how it works:

1. Rule-Based, Contextual Triggers

- Automated Workflows: Patient education materials (videos, handouts) are sent automatically based on EHR data (e.g., age, health history, visit type).

- Example: A child due for a measles vaccine receives tailored content before and after their appointment.

- No Clinician Effort: Doctors no longer manually send information—it’s triggered by the EHR.

2. Seamless Patient Portal Integration

- LiveWell Portal: Content is delivered directly within Advocate’s patient portal, avoiding clunky logins or app downloads.

- Patients receive text messages with direct links to their personalized resources.

- Underserved Populations: SMS engagement rates soared, especially among groups less likely to check emails.

3. Reducing IT Lift

- No "Waiting in Line": Xealth’s FHIR integration bypassed lengthy IT queues, deploying quickly within existing systems.

- Clinician-Driven Design: Pediatricians helped prioritize workflows, ensuring the platform met their needs.

The Results: 30% Lift in Engagement & Clinician Relief

- 30% Increase in Engagement: Families watched more educational videos and accessed handouts aligned to their needs.

- Reduced Clinician Burnout: Automating education tasks freed doctors to focus on care.

- Fewer "Google Diagnoses": Patients stayed within the trusted LiveWell portal, avoiding misinformation.

Key Takeaways for Health Systems

1. Automate, Automate, Automate: Use FHIR and EHR data to trigger personalized patient journeys—no manual work required.

2. Meet Patients Where They Are: SMS > email for underserved populations. Direct links to portals reduce friction.

3. Clinicians Are Partners: Involve providers in designing workflows to ensure tools align with their needs.

4. Think Beyond Pediatrics: Advocate is expanding to pre-diabetic, bariatric, and physical therapy patients.

The Future of Patient Engagement

Advocate’s success proves that automation and interoperability aren’t just buzzwords—they’re tools to build trust, reduce burnout, and keep patients informed. As Aaron Sheedy of Xealth noted:

> "The more you lift the burden from clinicians, the more you win. It’s a win-win for everyone."