EP138: A Science-Based Strategy for Patient Engagement with Andrea LaFountain, CEO of Mind Field Solutions Corporation

Relentless Health Value™

Dr LaFountain is a healthcare strategist, neuroscientist and author of “How Patients Think: A science-based strategy for patient engagement and population health.” She is the CEO of Mind Field Solutions Corporation, a firm specializing in the application of cognitive neuroscience to health behavior and patient engagement. The Cleveland Clinic has described her neuroscience approach to patient engagement as “a stunning innovation in healthcare,” and “a pathway for transformation.” Harvard Medical School describes her work as “providing a scientific approach to patient care that is long overdue.” Her business was described as “one to watch” by Mid-Atlantic Diamond Ventures.

Prior to establishing Mind Field Solutions, she worked for AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals where she led consumer research and analytics for the oncology portfolio. She received numerous awards for her work in understanding consumer behavior including the “Consumer Marketing Excellence” award and “Best Commercial Innovation.” She has chaired international conferences on patient engagement for many years and is recognized as an industry expert in patient behavior.

She earned a PhD for her research in Pre-Frontal Cortex Executive Functioning which received the accolade of having “measured the immeasurable,” by Imperial College, London. Before moving to the United States, she was a lecturer at The University of Liverpool, specializing in Cognitive Neuroscience, Health Behavior, Research and Statistics. She is a frequent lecturer on Wharton’s Healthcare MBA program.

She is the Past President of the Mid-Atlantic Healthcare Business Woman’s Association. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association as well as the British Psychological Society, and a scientific reviewer for the International Society for Pharmaco-economic Outcomes Research. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband Andy and five children.

00:00 Healthcare Value. 03:00 Patient Decision-Making. 04:30 Patient Engagement vs. Patient Adherence. 06:00 Bringing Science forward in Patient Engagement. 07:00 What adding Science to Decision-Making looks like. 09:30 Case Studies for Scientifically-backed Patient Engagement. 11:35 Cognitive Diagnostics and Risk Stratification. 14:50 How this transpires in-clinic. 16:15 Training Physicians to affect Patient Engagement. 17:10 Training Care-Extenders to improve Patient Engagement. 21:45 Getting it right the first time. 24:20 Discovering Patients’ true motivations. 27:30 Conceptualizing sickness vs. health. 29:45 You can find out more information at howpatientsthink.org, or by reading the book How Patients Think.