10 Ideas: Getting men to visit the doctor more frequently

A big (if relatively unknown) public health issue:

“Men are half as likely as women to go to the doctor over a 2 year period and they are also more than three times likely to admit going more than five years without a visit. Finally, men are more than twice as likely to report that they’ve never had contact with a doctor or health professional as an adult.”

The challenge is to come up with 10 ideas to encourage / make it easier for men to visit the doctor more regularly.

This post is a collection of responses from the weekly 10 ideas email. If you’d like to be more creative every week, you can sign up to receive the email here.

Some of my favourites this week:

Some of my favourites this week:

• Automated reminders through Medicare — Medicare sends you annual reminders after 18 months of not going to the doctor. They have the records. Easy execution. In the reminder it talks about all the benefits of regular checkups at your specific age.
• The carrot and the stick — Given the cost savings down the track, medicare actually gives you cash for going to have a preventative check up once a year / Annual medical sign off to renew driving license
• Workcover — Make employers responsible through workcover for an annual preventative health screen.
• Dads & kids — Set up a campaign of Dads & Kids appointments. When you take the kids in for their checkup or vaccination Dad gets checked up as well. Obligations to kids have a great way of driving follow through.

The full list:

Penalties and incentives

• Specific incentives and penalties for segments of the community that are all tied back to medicare (the government already knows how frequently you attend a doctor). Have specific income tax benefits that require you to be proactive around taking care of yourself. So if you’re in a higher tax bracket and don’t get an annual checkup (according to medicare), then you get a 1% tax surcharge. If you’re in a lower tax bracket, then maybe it’s a cash benefit payable into your account.
• Given the cost savings down the track, medicare actually gives you cash for going to have a preventative check up
• Private health insurance surcharge for every year you don’t go to the doctor
• Charge a premium on health insurance for Not having an annual check up
• New government dept. books their appointments for them and fine them for not going
• Health insurance rebates — in the form of cash from your doctor
• Group accountability — Set up group booking where 5 + guys can go together
• Gamify — public leaderboard of who is the healthiest
• Make health insurance unavailable without an annual medical
• Give insurance discounts for those having regular check ups
• Men’s health tax: If you don’t have an annual checkup, you get taxed
• Reduced medicare levy if you do have an annual check-up
• Have an Amnesty period to have an annual medical before health benefits cost more for those not attending

Delivery

• Facetime for doctors (I did a research piece into this four years ago for a start up. Common assumption is that a company is going to come in and monetize doctors spare time. They can take 15–30 min calls and make money. Reality is that they a) make enough money already and b) “when I have spare time in the day, I just want to eat a sandwich”. Video calls seem to work well for remote areas like rural Australia, but overwhelmingly doctors prefer to see you in person because there are all sorts of nonverbal cues that they use to assess your health which get lots on a video call.
• Building on top of number two, this could be an opportunity for VR. Prob expensive right now, but if a doctor could more accurately and clearly see the patient and “walk around” the room, this could make diagnosis higher quality and drive adoption.
• Clinics that specialise in pre / post work appointments
• Online consultations via Skype or the phone
• Pub-doctors
• Phone call based appointments
• Put GP’s at airports so men can visit while waiting for a plane (utilize spare time)
• Use technology to reduce the embarrassment level of initial diagnosis (app)
• Initial assessments done online to save time for busy executives
• Link FitBits etc to your doctor for monitoring purposes
• All in one men’s health center: gym, swimming pool, doctor, counsellor, nutritionist, doctor, etc all onsite
• Doctor’s surgeries on golf courses
• Put doctor’s surgeries in TABs and bars
• In-home doctor visits. Challenge is finding or incentivizing the doctors to do it.

Discounts and benefits

• AFL membership: discount membership provided with a doctors certificate, showing that men have been for their annual check-up
• Bottomless cups of coffee at the doctors
• Gym membership coming with a free annual check-up at a local clinic

Marketing

• Sponsor a series of content featuring ex sports stars talking about going to doctor annually and discussing how it’s not threatening
• More general media discussion about theoretically uncomfortable exams, on radio and in the media more generally. Make it funny, not threatening
• Training for doctors to help them better understand the threats that many men see in the doctor, and how their approach can minimise this
• Marketing campaign: have the Rock tell dudes it’s time for a check-up & importantly, that it’s ok to talk about how you are feeling
• Set up a campaign of Dads & Kids appointments. When you take the kids in for their checkup or vaccination Dad gets checked up as well. Obligations to kids have a great way of driving follow through.

Rapport and reminders

• Medicare sends you annual reminders after 18 months of not going to the doctor. They have the records. Easy execution. In the reminder it talks about all the benefits of regular checkups at your specific age.
• Make it easier for men to build a relationship with their doctor. Each doctor has a list of interests on the website, so you know it’s going to be easier to build rapport before you go.
• Building a strong personal rapport with the doctor, such that when you get a reminder call or message you go.
• Annual medical sign off to renew driving license
• Your doc can send an alert to your fitbit telling you it’s time to come in for a checkup
• Annual Doctor’s sign off to renew gym membership
• Have reminder dates built into FitBits for annual check ups, with non compliance resulting in the Fit Bit ceasing to function

Work

• Make employers responsible through workcover for an annual preventative health screen. If preventable conditions aren’t detected at an early stage, it becomes an employer responsibility.
• Provide medicare data to employers that shows how long it is since an employee has visited the doctor. Anyone over 2 years becomes unemployable through workcover until they’ve been for a checkup.
• Private sector: have an annual doctor visit to your office to ensure all staff receive an annual check-up. Make it compulsory.
• Wipe FBT on companies paying annual checkup fees for staff

This post is a collection of responses from the weekly 10 ideas email. If you’d like to be more creative every week, you can sign up to receive the email here.