Importance of Behavioral Science in Health Tech

HEDIS scores look like clinical metrics. But underneath, they’re behavioral data. HEDIS (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) scores play a central role in health plan quality reporting. They track whether members complete recommended actions like screenings, checkups, and chronic condition management. But let’s be honest: HEDIS doesn’t just reflect the quality of care —it reflects whether members FOLLOW THROUGH. A high score means members took action. A low score? Often, they didn’t. So when health plans ask, “How do we improve our HEDIS scores?”—what they’re really asking is, “How do we help people do the things that count?” That’s a behavioral question. And it’s exactly where behavioral science can make an impact: 🕒 People forget. Timely, well-placed reminders beat generic nudges every time. ⚙️ People avoid friction. If it’s hard to schedule, it’s easy to ignore. 👥 People follow social norms. “Most people your age get this screening” can shift decisions. 🧾 People tune out complexity. A long message gets skipped. A simple, specific ask gets done. HEDIS doesn’t capture everything about quality—but it does reveal where behavior breaks down. And if we want better health outcomes, we have to design for how people actually behave, not just how we wish they would. 👋 If you’re working to improve health outcomes, behavioral science can help. Let’s talk.

Sometimes research confirms the zeitgeist and sometimes it’s way ahead of the zeitgeist. An example of the latter is this amazingly prescient 2018 paper published in the journal JAMA Cardiology by Kevin Volpp, Harlan Krumholz, and David Asch. Kevin Volpp, the director of the Penn Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, and David Asch, both Professors of Medicine and Health Care Management at the School of Medicine and Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, are members of Thrive Global’s scientific advisory board.    The paper, entitled “Mass Customization for Population Health,” notes that the U.S., which lags in life expectancy compared to other industrialized countries, spends huge amounts of money developing new medical technologies and yet doesn’t deploy existing ones very well. In cases in which effective treatment options exist, adherence is only about 40% to 45%.   And here was the prescient part: to increase adherence, and thus better health outcomes, “risk reduction strategies might be matched to individual preferences, observed behavioral phenotypes, and estimated risk.”   That’s exactly what AI, through hyper-personalization, will allow us to do — and it’s also what we’re currently integrating into our behavior change model at Thrive. Imagine a customized, hyper-personalized AI health coach trained not only on the best peer-reviewed science, but also on our biometric, lab and other medical data, and, as the paper states, our individual preferences — what conditions allow us to get quality sleep, which foods we love and don’t love, how and when we’re most likely to walk, move and stretch, and the most effective ways we can reduce stress.    The combination of behavioral science engagement tools combined with synchronized and automated medication refills could be thought of, the authors write, as a “behavioral polypill.” As they conclude, “behaviors ultimately determine much of the effectiveness we derive from the treatment strategies we already have.”   With AI, the behavioral polypill can become a powerful reality and significantly move the needle on health outcomes. https://lnkd.in/djvmuTxh #Health #AI #Personalization #ArtificialIntelligence #Behavior #Outcomes

A Behavioural Science Framework for Tackling Upstream Challenges in Health Systems At least since 2015, when I joined a donor organization, I’ve wondered: why doesn’t policy and advocacy have a behavioral framework? It’s always surprised me. I’ve raised this question many times with colleagues at different institutions, and I’ve never received a satisfying answer. More recently, in conversations with colleagues at Global Health Visions, we’ve been exploring how behavioral science might enhance our policy and advocacy efforts. This paper gives us language and structure to take that conversation further. This paper introduces a fresh approach by building a behavioral science lens for upstream actors—people like government officials, funders, and policy shapers whose decisions create the conditions for everyone else downstream. Why this is important: Behavioral science is often applied to patient or provider behavior—adherence, uptake, compliance. But those interventions don’t always address the systemic bottlenecks and frictions that start at the top. Ignoring upstream behavior has, unfortunately, stunted health systems work. Key Elements of the Framework: 1. Distill the challenge into actionable behaviors: -What’s the outcome of interest? (e.g., reduce maternal mortality) -What system-level changes would help achieve it? -Who needs to do what? -Which behaviors offer the highest leverage for intervention? 2. Diagnose the drivers behind each behavior: -Awareness: Is the decision even on the actor’s radar? -Framing: How do identity, incentives, and context shape how the decision is viewed? -Options: What’s seen as viable or visible? -Consequences: What trade-offs, risks, or rewards are salient? -Follow-through: What frictions could derail action? These questions apply just as powerfully to upstream actors as they do to frontline workers or community members. A Practical Example: Suppose a Ministry of Health delays adopting a new maternal referral guideline, despite strong evidence. A behavioral lens might reveal: -The decision isn’t salient amidst competing demands. -The official frames the decision as high-risk politically. -They perceive the option as costly or hard to implement. -Frictions like unclear next steps or inter-departmental coordination block progress. Behavioral tools—like reframing, choice architecture, or reducing follow-through frictions—could unblock the decision and accelerate reform. The framework doesn’t offer a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather a way to better understand and act on the real drivers of systemic inertia—and to co-design solutions that are behaviorally informed, politically realistic, and more likely to stick. #BehavioralScience #HealthSystems #PolicyDesign #GlobalHealth #SystemChange #BehavioralInsights #ImplementationScience #DonorWork #UpstreamThinking #PublicPolicy #GHV #DecisionScience #HealthPolicy #SocialNorms #OrganizationalBehavior

How do you double conversion when you've got a great product but people aren't taking full advantage of it? This is the question Marvin Behavioral Health faced. While many medical professionals were using Marvin for therapy, we saw an opportunity to get even more through signup and onboarding to start their therapy journey. When we analyzed Marvin's landing page through a behavioral science lens, we discovered several critical barriers: 🧠 Mental Model Confusion: Was this AI therapy or human? What’s the channel? People couldn't tell exactly what they were signing up for. ⏰ Present Bias: Healthcare workers are incredibly time-scarce. "Therapy sounds nice, but how does it help me RIGHT NOW?" 🤐 Identity & Social Stigma: In healthcare, clinicians have a strong identity as the caregivers, and receiving help themselves isn't as normalized. Our solution? A complete landing page redesign focused on these key behavioral principles: 1️⃣ Humanize the experience: We replaced the tech-focused interface with photos and bios of actual therapists, shifting the mental model from "app" to "human service." 2️⃣ Build trust through expertise: We highlighted therapists' healthcare backgrounds and Marvin's 24/7 emergency hotline—a powerful display of idiosyncratic fit & institutional sacrifice. 3️⃣ Use multi-layered social proof: We showcased prestigious hospital partnerships AND testimonials from local clinical champions to normalize therapy. The results? The conversion rate more than doubled—from 10% to 21% after the behavioral redesign. Here's what product leaders can learn: 1. Idiosyncratic fit matters: Make people feel your product was built specifically FOR THEM. Marvin didn't just offer therapy—they offered therapy by healthcare experts for healthcare workers with healthcare schedules. 2. Humans > Algorithms: If humans are involved in your product, make it the centerpiece of your value prop. We consistently find people trust and value human expertise over AI or algorithms, even as tech advances. 3. Lower the barrier at every decision point: A lower perceived commitment CTA, transparent pricing upfront, and simplified design all made it harder to say no than yes. Look for every micro-decision in your flow and remove friction. What invisible barriers might be keeping YOUR users from experiencing your product's value? Often the biggest conversion killer isn't your product—it's how users perceive it before they ever try it. Want to work with our team to uncover behavioral barriers in your product? DM me or email richard@irrationallabs.com to learn more.

👀 That moment when “one-size-fits-all” just doesn’t cut it anymore… and you’re all eyes on "personalized" By strategically combining AI and behavioral science, you can create the kind of impact that drops jaws 😮 That’s exactly what Amy Bucher and her team are doing at Lirio with precision nudging: hyper-personalized communications crafted from the fusion of AI tech and behavioral science expertise. So, what’s in their secret sauce for hyper-personalization? 1️⃣ *Behavioral Science Foundations* Lirio’s team builds interventions from both top-down and bottom-up research. They start with behavior change models and existing literature to pinpoint the key drivers of target behaviors. Then they blend in on-the-ground insights from stakeholders and partners to create an initial framework, or logic model. 2️⃣ *Precision Content Design* They identify behavior change techniques (BCTs) and translate these into content assets — bites and visuals that combine into engaging, targeted messages. 3️⃣ *AI Training & Iteration* Here, Lirio’s AI team steps in. They train AI “agents” with specialized jobs to determine the best content, timing, and channels for each person’s engagement. The AI agents work with a reward system that incentivizes various steps of the patient journey, from opening emails to scheduling and attending an appointment. Using contextual bandits (think of them as superhuman experimenters) and reinforcement learning (the aforementioned system of incentivizing behaviors), they continuously test different messages to maximize the target behavior (e.g., getting a mammogram). The result? Hyper-personalized messaging that respects each person’s unique context and helps them complete essential health tasks. 👋 Goodbye to the old days of one-size-fits-all interventions, and hello to personalized communications that address each user's unique situation. #AI #BehavioralScience #BehavioralDesign cc: Samuel Salzer Habit Weekly Nuance Behavior

Small changes, big results: how a behavioral redesign doubled conversion rates 💡 Want to double conversions by tweaking your positioning? We did exactly that for Marvin Behavioral Health, a therapy platform for healthcare professionals. The problem seemed straightforward: only 10% of healthcare workers were enrolling after visiting their landing page. But the psychological barriers were complex: 👉 Confused mental models: visitors couldn't immediately grasp what the service actually was 👉 Missing idiosyncratic fit: healthcare workers needed evidence therapists truly understood their unique challenges 👉 Professional stigma: in medicine's "push through it" culture, seeking mental health support feels risky Our behaviorally-informed redesign focused on three key changes: 1️⃣ Humanizing the service with actual therapist photos, bios, and credentials to create a clear mental model 2️⃣ Showcasing therapists' 10+ years of healthcare experience and highlighting their previously hidden 24/7 hotline 3️⃣ Layering social proof with prestigious hospital partnerships and press coverage The result? Enrollment more than doubled to 21%. This matters beyond metrics. With burnout affecting 48% of doctors and 56% of nurses, costing healthcare systems $4.6 billion annually, making mental health support more accessible addresses both business objectives and critical societal needs. Full case study in comments 👇 #BehavioralScience #ProductDesign