The Gap is Not Tech: It's Evidence-Based Change Management

I recently saw a post about the overwhelming feeling of new AI features in healthcare—that technology is on an exponential curve, while our traditional human workflows are stuck on a flat line. I couldn’t agree more. After spending years in the trenches of clinician education, I know the gap isn't technical; it's entirely rooted in change management.

My background is in CME (Continuing Medical Education), where I learned how hard it is to change physician behavior through mandated training. That’s why I came to embrace Academic Detailing—the idea of using one-on-one, peer-to-peer education, driven by specific data, to drive small, measurable behavioral changes. Remember the old pharmaceutical rep days? Academic detailing takes the concept from the pharma industry and uses it as a strategy to influence clinician behavior change using evidence-based practice in a conversational and meaningful way. 

At Wildflower, we don't just deliver a product; we work to deliver behavior change, and we have the data to prove it. We understand that a clinician’s practice is built on evidence, not mandate. Our job is to provide the credible data they need to feel confident in adopting a new workflow.

A Lesson from the Southwest: Early Intervention is Everything

Before joining Wildflower, I spent 15 years in healthcare, most recently dedicating 7 years to leading provider-facing education initiatives. This experience, rooted in the Midwest, where healthcare truly is life, taught me that trust and targeted education are the only ways to shift a practice.

When we introduced Wildflower’s integrated program to a major partner in one of our Southwest markets, the immediate challenge was demonstrating that our tool wasn't adding administrative burden—it was acting as a digital shield. The program consists of EMR integration working seamlessly within current workflows to provide evidence-based education and health advocacy support for patients, based on information provided through a technical integration. 

Here’s what our most recent measurement period showed, reinforcing the power of early intervention:

Early Depression Screening Pays Off: 

Patients are prompted to take the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) during their prenatal period, with most results categorized as low or mild risk. They’re also encouraged to check-in with their mental and emotional health ongoing. We recorded 250 EPDS scores indicating a need for support. This isn't a sign of failure; it’s proof of our success in early intervention. When we capture mild risk before it becomes severe, we reduce the situation from escalating further into a full-blown crisis, which means lower acuity, lower cost of care, and better outcomes for the member.

Targeting High-Risk, Immediately: 

Wildflower is always on, continuously screening and identifying risk factors prior to and between appointments. It is incredibly inspiring to see that we reached 100% of all high-risk users we identified, and 80% of them actively engaged with us. This level of penetration into the most vulnerable population is unheard of and demonstrates the power of our targeted outreach and engagement system.

Driving Earlier Clinical Action: 

Wildflower ensures patients with highest risk of poor outcomes, due to a broad range of factors, are fully supported with interventions, including referrals to health plan Case Management. We are now eagerly analyzing the data by trimester for more than 150 referrals because we suspect directionally that the majority are being sent over sooner. As we have seen with other clients, when our program successfully gets members into intensive case management earlier—in the second trimester versus late third or postpartum—we are actively shifting the entire course of care for those members. This is the definition of value in Value Based Care.

The lesson from our Southwest market, and from my decade in clinician education, is clear: Technology only works when it serves the human element. Wildflower succeeds because we use data and targeted strategies to ensure that the benefits we deliver are placed exactly where the clinician needs them—right in their workflow, saving them time and helping them deliver better care.

Learn more and view a case study that dives deeper into the Southwest market's data analysis and outcomes. We share Program Engagement statistics, Risk Identification data and VBC Savings results. Please provide your information below to view the case study.