Increasing Preventive Kidney Testing Through Patient Activation on MyTherapy

Background 

People living with diabetes, hypertension, or heart failure face a substantially increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD). While this link is well recognized clinically, kidney health often remains absent from routine care conversations. Consequently, many patients fail to recognize their risk early enough, leading to delayed preventive testing and missed opportunities for timely intervention.  

Solution 

Smartpatient and its healthcare partner delivered a focused kidney‑health learning journey directly into the daily routines of MyTherapy users, helping patients understand their risk and prepare to take preventive action. Together, we created a focused learning journey that appeared during meaningful app interactions such as medication intake or symptom tracking. The partner defined the clinical direction, while smartpatient used MyTherapy’s high‑engagement patient experience to integrate the content seamlessly.

What We Built 

FromSeptember to November 2024, smartpatient launched akidney-health learning journey to an estimated 55,000 MyTherapy users at elevated risk for CKD. 

The journey included:           

• Short educational explanations of kidney function
• A quiz reinforcing personal risk 
• A slideshow illustrating what kidney testing involves 
• A physician checklist to support upcoming appointments 

This structured activation approach reflects the same principles outlined in our 5-Step Guide to Patient Activation, which explains how clear guidance, repetition and timely prompts help patients move from awareness to action.

Impact 

The awareness campaign produced a measurable shift in preventive behavior among MyTherapy users. 

Patients exposed to the campaign showed a 77% increase in intent to undergo kidney function testing compared to baseline. Those engaging with multiple content formats demonstrated the strongest activation, highlighting the value ofrepeated and varied touch points. 
Patients also reported greater readiness to discuss kidney health with their physicians at upcoming visits.

Why MyTherapy 

MyTherapy reaches patients during moments when they are actively managing their health, which increases the relevance and impact of direct to patient education. This created a strong foundation for delivering the kidney health journey with consistent visibility and measurable behavioural influence. 

This approach reflects the broader shift toward scalable direct-to-patient marketing in pharma, where education and activation are delivered at moments that matter most to patients.

Outcome

The campaign demonstrates how integrated patient education can empower preventive action at scale. By embedding guidance into daily routines, smartpatient and its partner supported earlier kidney health conversations and testing among at-risk patients.

Takeaway 

When relevant health information is delivered in the flow of everyday self-management, patients are more likely to understand their risk and take preventive steps. 

MyTherapy provides an end-to-end model that spans awareness, diagnosis and prescription support, dispensing and adherence. By engaging and empowering patients through targeted activation, the platform generates unique connected data that informs brand decisions and strengthens real world performance. This creates scalable value for partners and better experiences for patients.