As the holidays draw near and the new year is just weeks away, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is surging in the U.S. and hospitals continue operating at dangerous capacity levels with lean supplies. Americans are either burned out (including physicians, nurses and health care administrators) or frustrated they can’t access the care they need (elective surgeries, family and care provider restrictions). But there is always a ‘how can we solve this?’ opportunity when we look to innovation.
Technology is a bridge between the practice and delivery of care. It continues to offer solutions in both convenience and connectivity, which are both needed at this critical time.
Here are some priority initiatives where innovation can help treat the “burn out” and improve CX/PX with the same investment:
Automation
Innovations that save time for physicians and nurses need to be a top business priority, because time is a precious commodity and something we can manage, even when the demands of the process remain. Implementing tools that standardize administrative work and maximize efficiency will help reduce stress and produce immediate ROI. It also allows healthcare providers to spend more time with their patients.
Telemedicine
Virtual connectivity and accessibility is another priority with CX/PX value. Over the past two years, the opportunity knocking has been that every consumer with a smart phone can schedule a telemedicine appointment and nobody has to wear a mask. The real difference operationally is that offering telemedicine appointments is one thing, and having the capability isn’t necessarily equal to properly utilizing the tools and maximizing the value of telemedicine.
This does mean changing some behaviors and ways that we make ourselves available to patients, but adopting technology doesn’t have to compromise on the process. The solution just has to be convenient for everyone using it, because patients want to refill their prescriptions and providers want to optimize their day. So a good place to start is by analyzing whether we have the best solution and right tools available, with the ability to support adoption and scale at a controlled cost.
Digital Marketing
Websites need to be helpful, not just promotional. Easier to say than design and develop, and butchering the Home page or completely changing the digital front door isn’t on anyone’s wish list. But people need real time information about their local hospital, their loved ones, and a pathway to answers.
Maybe this is the best business case for a sub-domain dedicated to keeping information up to date, and temporarily augmenting the administrative and marketing teams that have run stressfully lean for so long. And any web property that can unburden the phone and the people tasked with answering it will benefit everyone.
CRMs with SMS capability and email marketing are also very underutilized. Creating a sign up list to opt into communications with links to the right pages helps share information, assuage concerns, and grows the database.
Introspective
The health care industry was besieged by the pandemic in 2020. Two years later and 2022 on the horizon, we need to accept that the new way of doing things is here and there’s no going back. So it’s time to invest in innovation the same way we invest in infrastructure –– with near term solutions and long term value and ROI. The HealthX Group can help.
What initiatives do you have planned for 2022 that involve innovation?