Care Management

More than 40% of patients surveyed skipped medical care in the early months of the pandemic, according to a recent study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Of those who needed care, 58% missed scheduled preventive care. Similar trends are observed in cancer screening, with appointments for breast, colorectal, and cervical cancers – in some cases dropping by around 80%-90% in March and April 2020, compared to 2019. Diagnostic testing for several cancers also plummeted, as did HPV vaccinations.   These trends aren’t unexpected: COVID-19 forced medical facilities to cancel or scale back services, while fear of infection and financial worries kept many patients away. But with most services operating at near-normal capacity again, and the vaccine program tipping the balance in favor of rescheduling care, preventative services are still lagging. Many patients remain reluctant to attend screening and wellness visits, despite the health risks associated with delaying care for potentially serious conditions.   Re-establishing a preventive care routine is essential. For patients, getting back on track with earlier diagnosis means more timely treatment and a better chance of recovery. It promises a better financial outlook for patients, payers, and providers alike, who all suffer higher costs when medical conditions escalate. And providers want to get their day-to-day business back on track to smooth out what has been a heavily disrupted workflow and revenue cycle over the last year.   Providers must reassure patients that returning to care is safe and necessary. Compassionate and personalized support will be key to making sure patients get the right care at the right time. Automated patient outreach strategies built on comprehensive patient data can help reverse the trends in forgone care.   How can data and automation support personalized patient outreach?   Kelly E. Anderson, one of the authors of the John Hopkins study, suggests that “physicians can mitigate some of the long-term harmful effects of this forgone care by proactively reaching out to patients who missed care, to try and reschedule the care either in-person or through telehealth.”   Automated outreach combined with easy patient scheduling platforms can help providers identify and invite healthcare consumers to get much-needed preventive care appointments back on track. For example:   Automation makes scheduling easy for patients and efficient for providers Online scheduling platforms allow patients to reschedule missed appointments at a time and place that suits them. A targeted outreach list of those patients most likely to need screening (for example, based on age, lifestyle, or health risk factors) can be used to send automated booking prompts and reminders by text message or interactive voice response (IVR). It’s simple and convenient for patients and reduces pressure on call center staff. Plus, it generates a wealth of useful real-time data on response rates to pinpoint areas for improvement.   With the right data, providers can direct patients to appropriate services For patients that can’t or prefer not to attend their usual healthcare facilities, directing them to telehealth services or alternative venues might be a good option. Similarly, patients with a medical or family history that suggests a higher risk of cancer ought to be prioritized for screening. But you can only do this when you know who those patients are, and what exactly they need. Social determinants of health can be a powerful tool to help providers determine a holistic view of patients’ clinical and non-clinical needs.   ConsumerView collates consumer data from over 300 million individuals, across multiple demographic, psychographic and behavioral attributes, so providers know more about the lifestyles and interests to be able to effectively resonate and engage. Data helps create a better patient financial experience Since many patients are worried about the loss of health insurance, outreach efforts might also involve pointing patients towards appropriate financial support. When socio-economic data reveals that a patient is struggling financially, providers can quickly check for missing coverage, offer tailored payment plans, and help obtain charity care if required.   Automated outreach can also deliver the upfront information about healthcare pricing that so many patients demand, and help staff collect faster patient payments by providing easy payment links through text and IVR campaigns. Consumer data can inform compassionate patient communications With the majority of patients opting out of scheduled appointments because of concerns about COVID-19 exposure, any invitation to reschedule care should offer plenty of reassurance about hygiene protocols. Some patients may need a gentle nudge to reschedule appointments, so if you can help them feel comfortable visiting facilities and tell them what to expect, they’ll be more likely to return.   Offering additional reassurance and support to communities who are traditionally underserved by healthcare services, or who have been harder hit by COVID-19, will be even more important. Best contact information, social determinants of health insight and ethnicity insight can support efforts to promote screening to groups who may face additional barriers to care.   With the right data, you can go beyond compassionate messages and choose an appropriate communications channel that’s the right fit for the consumer, too.   One thing that hasn’t been hindered by COVID-19 is the trend toward healthcare consumerism. Patients have a choice about which provider they use. Proactively supporting patients to catch up on missed care is a surefire way for providers to stand out as the easy choice.  

Knowing that clinical care accounts for only a portion of health outcomes, understanding how patients are affected by social determinants of health (SDOH) continues to gain attention as a critical factor in care delivery. COVID-19 has thrust the issue even further into the spotlight, with socially and economically vulnerable groups hardest hit by the pandemic. At the same time, the expansion of telehealth services over the last year has benefited some marginalized groups, who may feel uncomfortable visiting health facilities or may, for example, sometimes face challenges finding transportation to and from their visits. What’s clear is that when it comes to mitigating the impact of COVID-19’s lingering effects, patient identities based on clinical data alone simply won’t cut it. Providers need a holistic view of patients – both clinical and non-clinical.   Many providers do not have updated contact information for the patients they want to engage, in addition to missing patient-level insights such as housing, food, access to technology, transportation and financial stability data that could help better engage patients. Given the many complicated personal and structural barriers that may exist to accessing healthcare, providers lacking SDOH data in patients’ records are risking avoidable readmissions, unnecessary ED visits, poor care quality ratings and denied reimbursements.   Understanding patient needs and preferences via lifestyle factors – like occupation and technological knowledge – helps providers improve engagement, outreach and access. The results can be game-changing.   The benefits of an enriched, more robust patient record with SDOH Improved certainty of patient needs to achieve healthy outcomes Whether it’s missed appointments, lack of engagement, deferred treatment, or failure to comply with care instructions – if SDOH is the cause, providers need to know.  An enriched patient record that includes clearly defined SDOH risks and insights to those risks is invaluable.   For example, if a patient record includes recommended engagement strategies suggesting medication delivery, or ensuring medications are with the patient at discharge, due to the patient’s difficulty accessing a pharmacy, negative outcome risk is reduced. Significant provider blind spots that might otherwise interfere with desired health outcomes can be eliminated or extensively mitigated with access to this kind of data.   Consumer data gives additional insight useful in risk stratification efforts, allowing care teams to get granular and proactive if, for example, a patient’s lifestyle makes office-hour calls impossible, or if a lack of transportation requires the patient be informed that telehealth is available. Additionally, the data can flag if the patient prefers reminders by text, voice message or email. These considerations make a difference; 80-90% of modifiable contributors to healthy outcomes for a population are regularly attributed to the social, economic and environmental factors that comprise SDOH.   Connecting the dots can improve care coordination SDOH data doesn’t just help flag general access issues; it can also help providers dig into specific challenges that may warrant referrals to community programs or additional staffing support. SDOH data may lead to the discovery that a patient is struggling to access healthy, affordable food and prompt a conversation about getting referred to an in-network nutritionist or local food partnership.   Patient-specific information can be merged with consumer databases covering a range of socio-economic data, initiating proactive conversations with patients that can solve non-clinical gaps in care.   Clarity of the “why” behind patient insights, for better communication and engagement Someone experiencing financial instability as a result of pandemic-related unemployment will expect a different financial conversation than someone who has lived in poverty for their whole life. Further, two patients with high readmission risk can have completely different social determinants of health impacting that risk.  Knowing that patients are affected by SDOH is only one piece of the puzzle. Understanding the bigger picture helps create a whole picture and enables personalized, sensitive, and helpful communication.   A turn-key SDOH solution that helps define the “why” behind the score avoids analysis paralysis and enables a quick, effective engagement strategy based on what really matters to patients. Supplementing patient surveys with consumer data is also important, as it provides deeper insights and recommendations for engagement strategies.   Of course, a connected system only works when the patient identity is accurate and tracks them from service to service. With a universal identity manager, you can have confidence that your teams are all working from a complete, current and insights-rich view of each patient.   Find out more about how Experian Health can help your organization make sense of SDOH data for better patient identity management and a more personalized patient experience.  

As Spotify and Amazon can attest, digital technology plus personalization is a winning formula. Consumers want anytime-anywhere access to the services and products they enjoy, without having to sift through irrelevant information. They want tailored recommendations that will make their life easier. More than eight in ten consumers say they’re more likely to choose businesses that treat them like a person instead of just a number. The pay-off for business—and health plans—is huge: by paving the way for better services, better relationships and a better consumer experience, personalization boosts profits, too. There’s one challenge: delivering personalization requires data. Health plans that want to offer a member-centric experience need the right insights to build a complete picture of what individual members need and want. Yet many health plans are forced to work from stale or incomplete data, notably when CMS hands over a new list of members or a new employer signs on to the plan. A system like that makes it nearly impossible to provide meaningful personalization, and consequently, the member experience suffers. With originally sourced data and consumer insights, health plans can fill in the missing links in member profiles and maximize opportunities to improve the consumer experience. Here, we look at how three specific data-driven strategies could help your health plan attract and retain satisfied members and demonstrate digital excellence by using personalization to drive improvements in communications and care. Personalize member communications for maximum engagement By looking beyond simple demographic data and clinical information, health plans can discover what really matters to members. Consumer data provides detailed insights about the kind of content that will resonate most with the member’s lifestyle, interests and health circumstances. Health plans can tailor their marketing messages accordingly, by highlighting articles about the treatment of relevant medical conditions or sending reminders ahead of annual check-ups.Health plans can also discover when and how to communicate with members so they’re most likely to respond. When member profiles reveal who prefers an email or a text and when, health plans can elicit higher levels of engagement, improve the consumer experience and see better results from targeted outreach campaigns. Make improvement decisions based on the most relevant data Consumer insights can also be used to develop improvement plans that zero in on exactly what members need for the best possible health outcomes. Combining insights on patient behavior patterns with an understanding of the challenges facing individual members means health plans can segment members, so the right support goes to the right place.For example, efforts to drive up medication adherence are going to be far more successful if based off accurate and current member profiles. Specific members can be sent automated, personalized reminders to fill out prescriptions in good time before they run out. Compare that to a “spray and pray” awareness campaign using generic messages that are likely to be ignored. Data-led improvement strategies are operationally efficient and create a better experience for members. Help members overcome social barriers to health Finally, when member profiles include a snapshot of how social and economic factors influence their ability to access healthcare, health plans can take action to offer support. Closing the gaps in care that arise when a patient fails to turn up to their appointment or ends up being readmitted to hospital, can often involve quite simple solutions. If data suggests the member has small children, but there’s no other adult in the household, it makes sense to cross-promote childcare services. Similarly, if the member isn’t known to own a car, a health plan could offer information on free transportation.Understanding these social determinants of health can help health plans offer proactive support so members enjoy better health outcomes in the long run. Experian Health’s rich datasets give health plans access to member-level insights on more than 330 million consumers, with data analysis and automation tools to help make business decisions based on the most relevant, current data. Contact us to find out how we can help provide the personalized experience members are looking for.

    Many thought the end of COVID-19 was in sight with the availability of a vaccine, and while that is somewhat true, an entirely new set of issues has arrived: how to properly administer and manage the vaccine. Now that a COVID-19 vaccine is approved and underway, providers need to execute a medical billing and coding strategy to sustain vaccination efforts. We interviewed J. Scott Milne, senior director of product management at Experian Health, about what’s changed and what providers can do to prepare. How can providers ensure that vaccine administration codes are billed correctly? The ICD-10 and CPT codes for the COVID-19 vaccine haven’t existed until now, which means providers have a new set of codes to learn and unfortunately, those codes seem to change or update almost daily. As more vaccines are introduced, more codes are also introduced, and not just for the vaccine as a whole, but for each specific dose of the vaccine. For example, dose one of the Pfizer vaccine will have a code that differs entirely from dose two of the Moderna vaccine. Keeping up with these changes isn’t only difficult for provider staff, who are likely already stretched thin, but they certainly don’t want to run the risk of submitting a claim with incorrect information. The errors are what result in denials or undercharges. A solution like Claim Scrubber ensures code sets are current on a daily basis – a necessity for times like these – but applies an extensive set of general and payer-specific edits before preparing the claim for processing. That means claims for vaccine administration are error-free before submission to the payer or clearinghouse. Providers can eliminate undercharges, boost first-time pass through rates and do away with costly, time-consuming rework. But proper coding is only the first piece of the billing puzzle. The second piece is to verify the accuracy of payment received from third-party payers. How can providers ensure that third party payers will reimburse at the contracted rates? Providers can certainly get reimbursed for administering the vaccine, but there are a lot of moving parts to keep up with. For example, both Medicaid and Medicare will reimburse providers for administering COVID-19 vaccines, but the percentage of what is covered will differ by carrier and the reimbursement rates can vary both by state and type of arrangement. Reimbursement rates will also vary amongst private payers. Then there is the variation in reimbursement based on vaccine type and dosage -- vaccines that require a single dose may be reimbursed at a rate different than those that require two doses. Even without the vaccine rollout underway it can be a headache for hospitals and health systems to manage multiple payer contracts and reimbursement methodologies. A solution like Contract Manager will pinpoint variance in reimbursement quickly and easily, accurately pricing claims and comparing actual allowed amounts to expected amounts. It is a tool built to adapt to changes within the industry, so providers can capitalize on emerging reimbursement schemes and changes in payer payment policies. It can also help identify sources and patterns of errors so recurring issues can be promptly resolved. The end result: the provider organization can the payer revenue that is due for vaccine administration. Interested in learning more about how providers can optimize vaccine-related reimbursements?   Other blog posts in this series: Segmenting your patient population for the COVID-19 vaccine Engaging patient segments with convenient, secure scheduling solutions Authenticating portal access with automation Optimizing reimbursements by capturing missing coverage

While the various waves of vaccine priority may be largely defined, the ability for many providers to segment their patient populations based on those designations isn't always simple. Without accurate data, there’s a risk that some vulnerable patients will be missed out. We interviewed Mindy Pankoke, senior product manager at Experian Health, about the challenges in segmenting patient populations for the COVID vaccine and how providers can best overcome those challenges. How does addressing patients’ barriers to care increase vaccination rates? The early versions of this vaccination have two doses which comes with its own set of challenges. Getting a vaccination is one thing but getting people to follow up for a second dose in a certain time frame is another. It’s the non-clinical factors that will prevent patients from getting the vaccine. So, things like inflexible work schedules, lack of transportation or even the access or comfort levels with technology required to schedule an appointment online can prevent patients from receiving or prioritizing the first and/or second dose. It can be an uneven playing field with those patients that do not have more flexible schedules, a vehicle or even access to the proper technology to schedule and register for both doses. It’s much easier for patients to prioritize getting the vaccine when those non-clinical factors are a non-issue. What challenges may providers face when trying to segment patient populations for vaccine administration? There are a lot of gaps in patient demographics which can make it difficult for providers to accurately identify and segment patients. Think information like date of birth or occupation. If providers want to segment by age, which many will likely do for the first wave of vaccinations, that would require a complete record of every patient with an accurate birth date. Providers may also want to segment by occupation, knowing essential workers are also eligible for the vaccine. But how can you understand who is an essential worker? Especially when that definition may vary by state or local government? Including non-clinical insights and enhancing demographic data as part of the patient record can help providers fill in the gaps and better segment patient populations for vaccine administration. By combining the power of Experian’s consumer demographic information with more than 40 years of experience compiling consumer data from self-reported and state license boards, Experian Health is able to drill down into occupation data to view different types of employment (construction, utility, etc.) for you to use to outreach, verify and streamline the scheduling (and automated scheduling) or the COVID vaccination. What are some best practices to move from identifying at risk or priority populations and operationalizing that information into actually administering the vaccine to those groups? This is really where it all comes together, and really where providers need to act fast. Once a group is identified, providers can automate the process as much as possible. First, it is imperative that providers clean up their data. Recent processing of Experian’s Universal Identity Manager solution has identified 1,800 duplicate records in COVID vaccination registrations, for individual facilities. Providers can remove the duplicates, enhance the demographics where they may be out of date or missing, and put in place a proactive system to call out and prevent duplicates moving forward. And the vaccine has a shelf life, correct? So even after segmenting the right patients, how can providers act fast to ensure it is administered? So another best practice is to automate the scheduling for as many vaccination appointments possible. With a tool like Patient Schedule, providers can leverage the demographic data to programmatically push out a notification to a patient’s cell phone via IVR or text message, have them verify their eligibility based on the age or occupation data from Experian, and then allow the patient to book their appointment on the spot for a time that works best with their schedule. On the back end, the Patient Schedule solution syncs with the clinic or mobile vaccination site’s calendar to confirm the appointment, allowing staff the opportunity to tackle other pieces of the COVID vaccination strategy. Anything else you'd like to add? Providers will also want to risk stratify using social determinants of health insight on the individual level. Patients in every wave of vaccine priority present an opportunity for better patient engagement (68% of the US is impacted by at least one social determinant of health hindering them from accessing or prioritizing their care). Many patients will need help adhering to that second dose and knowing that information and those circumstances on the individual level can help providers engage in the best way possible to ensure the vaccine is administered correctly. Interested in learning more about how Experian Health can help supercharge the COVID-19 vaccine management process?

If President Biden’s two trillion-dollar stimulus package is approved by Congress, support will include funding for a national vaccination program. While the arrival of the vaccine is an immense relief, the logistics for rolling it out across the country present a major challenge. Even at a rate of one million shots administered per day, it could still take 18 months to vaccinate 80% of the population. There are numerous supply, distribution and communication challenges to overcome, both at national and state levels. And for individual healthcare providers, mass vaccine administration calls for a holistic approach, to make sure the right patients get the right dose at the right time and place. Could data analytics and digital automation tools be the key to identifying, engaging and supporting patients as the vaccine program is rolled out? Here are 6 ways digital technology could help your organization improve vaccine management. 6 digital tools to include in your vaccine management plan Segment patient groups with consumer data Deciding who gets the vaccine first is only hurdle number one. Providers must then segment patient populations according to risk categories (such as age or occupation), so they know who should be at the top of the list. Without accurate consumer data, there’s a risk that some vulnerable patients will be missed out. The answer lies in data analytics. By synthesizing thousands of data points for more than 300 million Americans, ConsumerView gives providers the detailed insights needed to segment and target patient populations. At the tap of a button, providers can find out which patients are essential workers or in high-risk groups, so they can be channeled into the vaccine program without delay.  Improve patient access and engagement with data insights According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, six in ten older adults say they don’t know when and where to get the vaccine. Many patients also face access barriers such as lack of transportation or childcare, or poor digital literacy. If providers don’t account for these in their outreach and engagement efforts, their vaccine program will fall flat. Consumer data can again help providers understand who their patients are, to identify those who might have trouble getting the vaccine. Insights on the social determinants of health can point to the best communication channels and support services to offer.  Keep track of patient identities with secure patient portals If providers are reaching out to patients and encouraging them to schedule vaccine appointments through their patient portal, they must have confidence that the person signing up and logging in is who they say they are. The right security protocols can help validate and protect patient information. One example of identity proofing technology is Precise ID®, which uses knowledge-based authentication (questions only the real person would be able to answer) and device recognition to verify patient identities. Prompt patients to book a vaccine appointment with automated outreach Imagine if patients could receive a text or voice message notifying them that it’s time to schedule their vaccine, with a link and simple instructions on how to book. With automated outreach, providers can proactively text or call a segment of patients with self-scheduling options and specific messages about the vaccine and its safety. Not only will this help to increase vaccination rates, it’ll reduce call center volumes at a time when staff are already under pressure. Make it easy for patients to schedule appointments with online self-scheduling In order to meet daily goals for vaccine administration, it has to be easy for patients to book appointments. The last thing any provider wants is no-shows. By deploying scheduling software that ties vaccination qualification rules into the booking process, providers can match patients to a convenient slot, ensure they meet the correct segmentation criteria prior to booking, and confirm whether the appointment is for the first or second dose. And of course, an online self-service scheduling tool such as Patient Schedule allows this part of the patient journey to be completed with minimal face-to-face contact, minimizing risk of infection. Speed up reimbursement with automated coverage discovery Finally, providers must make sure that vaccine-related reimbursements run smoothly. CMS has ruled that every American should have access to the vaccine without incurring any out-of-pocket costs. But although the government may be footing the final bill, providers still need to seek reimbursement by payers, which means they still need a reliable way to check a patient’s coverage status. With Coverage Discovery, providers can run quick, comprehensive checks of commercial and government coverage, and identify the right payer for administrative services. Digital software and analytics can provide efficient, secure and convenient ways for providers to guide patients through the vaccine management process, without delay. Contact us for more information on how Experian Health can support your organization to deliver a vaccine management plan.

Health plans have been fighting against inaccurate member data, incomplete member profiles and duplicate records for years. Without a watertight way to keep track of patient identities so health data is reliably linked and accessible across multiple services, payers can’t always be confident that the record in front of them matches the member they have in mind. The pandemic has brought this into sharp focus: positive COVID-19 test results aren’t always following members from service to service, and as the vaccination program rolls out, knowing who has had the disease and who has been vaccinated could be difficult to monitor. As health data expands exponentially and the need to share and connect member records becomes more urgent and complicated, the challenges facing health plans will only grow. Could a unique patient identifier (UPI) be the answer? 4 member matching challenges that health plans could solve with a UPI 1. The healthcare ecosystem lacks 21st Century Cures Act data coordination The lack of integrated systems to transfer member data securely contributes to safety issues, payment delays and potential audits and fines. Over a third of denied claims for health systems result from inaccurate patient information, costing them  at least $6 billion per year. While this would seem not to impact the payer, the inability to properly link claims to members could lead to an inability to understand the risk represented by the members being covered. Or worse, an inability to anticipate and monitor trends in members health and provide proactive healthcare options. A unique patient identifier can connect the dots between different parts of the healthcare ecosystem so duplicate and incomplete member data can be detected and eliminated. With a more complete picture of who a member is, health plans can make decisions based on accurate information and exchange data safely and securely. There’s a far lower risk of acting without knowing about recent treatment or test results, or communicating using the wrong address (or even to the wrong member). 2. Healthcare providers have outgrown traditional matching tools With the volume and variability of health data to be matched, traditional matching tools are no longer fit for purpose. For example, an enterprise master patient index (EMPI), which links all versions of a patient’s record across several facilities, may seem reliable. However, by relying on a single source of demographic data, EMPIs likely replicate errors and outdated information, and may combine records for patients who share certain demographic information (for example, if two patients have similar names and the same date of birth). Instead, payers should consider a matching solution that combines member roster information with comprehensive third-party reference data. Member records are matched using referential and probabilistic matching, and connected using a UPI. This gives health plans a more complete picture of their members, built on reliable health, credit, and consumer data sources, and allows all parties to understand the person at the center of it all. 3. Discrepancies in member data make care coordination impossible Members may use different names or nicknames, their address may change, and they may even share a Social Security Number (SSN) with someone else. How can health plans help to coordinate care if they’re not sure they’re tracking the right member? A single electronic health record (EHR) can follow the member throughout their healthcare journey with a UPI, so health plans can be confident that the person on the phone or in the office matches the record on screen. They can monitor and respond to gaps in care, allowing them to better coordinate care for better patient health, improved member engagement and money-saving operational efficiencies. 4. Members present to multiple facilities, inhibiting care plan tracking How can health plans reliably track medication adherence, especially when members present to multiple locations? Is there really a gap in care, or did the member just attend a different facility? And if members go to different pharmacies, how can a pharmacist be sure the prescription is going to the right person? All of this can create risks to patient safety and increased costs for payers. A UPI can help. Experian Health has teamed up with the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP), which sets standards for pharmacy services to exchange electronic healthcare data. A framework has been built for a UPI-based patient matching solution that the entire US healthcare network can use. Not only will this improve patient safety, it’ll minimize staff time spent on reconciling incorrect records, thus boosting financial performance too. When it comes to mismatched records, prevention is better than cure. With a Universal Identity Manager, health plans can have confidence in the accuracy and security of the data they’re using and sharing, promote patient safety, and improve staff productivity. Contact us to learn more.

Scheduling an appointment shouldn’t be complicated. Yet too often, patients are left to figure out their next move alone, with just a single phone number to call. Frustrated and confused, patients may drop out of the scheduling process entirely or miss the appointments they’ve already booked. Missed appointments can lead to critical gaps in care, poor health outcomes and possible readmissions, and they are also unnecessarily costly for providers. But what if you could make scheduling easy? Minimizing the burden on patients could close more gaps in care, improve the patient experience and reduce call center workload at the same time. Automated, targeted outreach campaigns can help you do exactly this. 5 ways automated patient outreach can help close gaps in care 1. Quicker and easier for patients to book care An automated solution can send targeted text messages (SMS) or interactive voice calls (IVR) to patients to remind them to book an appointment. By providing a self-scheduling link in the message, patients can book their appointment immediately. Patients are often more likely to schedule when they’re given a reminder plus a booking link, compared to a reminder message alone. There’s less risk of appointments being forgotten, sealing any potential care gaps from the start. 2. More appointments booked Automation also means you can contact and schedule more patients than if your call center was contacting each person individually. One large Medicaid managed care plan saw a 140% increase in their scheduling rates since using Patient Schedule. They’re able to match patients to the right provider first time, protecting calendars from errant bookings and eliminating the dreaded three-way calls between member, provider and payer.  3. More patients showing up to appointments When automated patient outreach is paired with digital scheduling, patients are far more likely to show up to appointments. The Iowa Clinic found that when patients book online, they’re not only more likely to show up, but they feel more engaged and eager to follow their care plan. Their patient show rates are as high as 97% for appointments scheduled online. If those patients are also more engaged, that’s a good sign that care gaps can be minimized too.  4. Better coordination of transport services One obstacle to attending non-emergency appointments that is often overlooked is the lack of access to reliable transportation. With automated scheduling software, this can be easily fixed. Once a member has booked an appointment, data analytics can flag up a potential need for transportation, so the member can be sent an automated text reminder to book transport. And if they need to reschedule for some reason, the transportation booking will auto-update too. Patients (and staff) no longer need to wrangle two separate systems for booking appointments and transportation. 5. Better management of wait lists and reduced call times Another way to close gaps in care is to give patients the option to book an earlier appointment, if a slot becomes available. Seeing their doctor sooner can mean quicker treatment and reduce the chance of a patient disengaging with their care plan because of a long wait. With automated outreach, you can send an automatic message to offer an earlier appointment, and then cancel the old booking (and offer it to others) at the same time. This enables better wait list management and can reduce call time for staff by an average of 50%. Automated patient outreach is a win-win. It’s far more convenient for patients, and drives down costs for providers and payers. Learn more about how automated appointment reminders and digital patient scheduling can help your organization improve the patient experience and close costly gaps in care.

Four in ten Americans live with multiple chronic conditions. For these individuals, life is punctuated with physician appointments, visits to the pharmacy and referrals to different specialists. Their care should be coordinated with orchestral precision, but the reality is somewhat less harmonious. Snail-paced scheduling systems, poor communication and mismatched patient records can lead to a lack of proper support for patients, confusion about how the care plan is managed, and potentially dangerous (and costly) gaps in care. For health plans, quality markers are missed and incentive payments start to dwindle.