It’s time for healthcare providers to be consumer focused.
Now more than ever, providers are being challenged by variables beyond their control to make budget on leaner margins as reimbursements are not keeping pace with rising costs. Assuming that maintaining the status quo is not an option, consumer-focused strategies are proven blue sky opportunities that apply equally to healthcare but can be surprisingly undervalued when a change needs to be made.
Over 60% of healthcare providers are prioritizing improvements in efficiency in 2023––but reducing uncertainty on strategic initiatives means that the best investment for ROI starts with an improvement in efficiencies and patient experience.
Experience and Efficiency are not Mutually Exclusive Initiatives
While automation is essential and AI will be the future of patient intake, the most important business case to state here is: Do not overlook experience if you’re planning to operationalize new efficiencies.
Why?
Because foresight trumps hindsight, and there’s no such thing as, “We’ll go back and improve the experience once we invest in this software and implement the new process.”
You won’t be able to reverse engineer the new solution once it’s the focus of any process, and there will still be ‘human’ interactions with patients that can’t be (easily) replaced by software. Staff Communication is still one of the biggest issues with patient satisfaction and expecting more from under-trained people is a recipe for mediocrity.
Here’s a quick summary of key areas for improvement, and how proper implementation, training and operational culture will be critical to the success of your strategic initiatives this year.
Patient Intake
Healthcare customers and patients want to have a relationship with their provider(s), not the front desk staff or other people tired of waiting in the lobby. People appreciate feeling like they’ll be taken care of when they show up in need, and they want helpful information with anytime/anywhere access to care.
Outside of emerging subscription models, the advancements in AI and digital/virtual intake offer the single best investment a practice can make to improve efficiency, collect data, schedule same day appointments, and deliver a convenient customer experience––if providers understand how this also benefits them and these advancements are properly operationalized.
As one of the biggest opportunities for improvement, there is plenty of competition in the solution space. The confidence of knowing you’ve properly vetted the best technology for your group (and that it will be effectively implemented, executed and adopted) is the difference between moving the organization forward or becoming locked into another sunk cost service contract that’s under-performing for its intended users.
Operational Culture
Changing organizational behavior is one of the biggest challenges to implementing process improvements and automation tools. As a result, any issues that cannot be easily resolved by a well-established culture can become problematic to any new initiative.
The upstream solution to identifying gaps and mitigating any risks to success starts at the top. Clear communication and messaging that flows from leadership to key managers can build an operational culture that embraces change.
Everyone should have a clear vision of how any change will improve the patient experience and their role in the process. Communicating this vision should include why the change is being made, when and how success will be measured, and what the organizational goals and metrics also mean to them.
Never underestimate how change can be incentivized, because the part about understanding ‘the why’ as improving patient experience is critical to healthcare employees buying in to their role and committing to the initiative.
Systems & Processes
Human nature may be one of the only fixed elements in a sea of variables. Something to think about when it comes to initiatives to improve experience and efficiency is this: What is the least familiar to people is often the most daunting, and therefore adopting new systems and processes can be troublesome if not strategically planned and executed.
Solving one problem to gain two others is typically the result of poor strategic planning and undervaluing the user experience. “Product Adoption” is one of the big considerations (besides cost, interoperability, terms, etc.) that should apply to everything from consumer facing apps and portals to operational software that internal teams will need to be successfully trained on.
Here’s an easy read on product adoption and why it matters (in healthcare, too).
Knowing that a solution is essentially worthless if the end user will have trouble adopting it ––i.e., the patient doesn’t value it because it’s not easy to use or irrelevant; staff members hate it because it doesn’t reduce steps; and providers won’t use it because it doesn’t save time –– then making sure you’ve properly vetted and planned time for solution implementation and training is invaluable.
Perspective, Knowledge & Expertise
The HealthX Group offers programs and services to help providers successfully execute initiatives to address patient intake, operational culture, and system and process integration.
Our experience in healthcare lends to the perspective of being unbiased when it comes to identifying the real problem, and our knowledge of emerging and innovative solutions is an additional value that we bring to the table.
In almost every instance, there are so many options available it’s hard to know where to start? AI is enabling providers to educate their patients and learn more about them beyond the standard demographics form. Culture that begins at orientation can improve patient relationships and satisfaction scores. And one of the largest segments of healthcare consumers (millennials) prefer digital interactions that will demand chat and telemed features that will change the way providers engage with them.
The good news is there are still plenty of opportunities to improve efficiency and experience this year… and we can help you make it happen.