First Pst after migration to Cloud in Health care Blog

This is the second in a series of blog posts that will highlight how the patient journey has evolved since the onset of COVID-19. This series will take you through the changes that impacted every step of the patient journey and provide strategic recommendations to move forward. In this post, we explore how 24/7 self-scheduling can help healthcare providers adapt to the post-pandemic digital landscape.  To read the full white paper, download it here. If there’s one digital tool that punches above its weight in the healthcare industry, it’s online self-scheduling. This simple concept – allowing patients to book their own appointments online – resolves many sticky issues throughout the entire patient journey. It drives patient satisfaction, acquisition, and retention. It boosts staff efficiency and smooths out bumps in the revenue cycle. No-shows and delayed care can be minimized, leading to reduced costs and far better health outcomes. All of that was true before the pandemic. However, when COVID-19 hit, self-scheduling was a gamechanger. When more patients wanted to manage their healthcare online, and staff were forced to work remotely, online medical scheduling was convenient and safe. Now, the return on investment is even higher. As patients struggle to overcome growing barriers to care, and providers wrangle with soaring volumes of returning patients, the digital front door must remain open. How can providers leverage the benefits of 24/7 digital self-scheduling seen over the last year or so, and create a digital patient experience that’s fit for the future? Consumers schedule appointments differently now – and they don’t want to go back Healthcare has been playing digital catch-up to other industries for much of the last decade. Consumers have long grumbled about archaic registration processes and the absence of digital tools seen frequently in other sectors. The urgent reconfiguration of the healthcare consumer experience over the last year means many of those missing digital options are now available. Instead of calling to make an appointment during office hours, patients can use 24/7 online scheduling platforms – accessible any time, from any device. Having had a taste of convenience and control, consumers expect online scheduling to continue beyond the pandemic. According to a new Experian Health study, nearly three-quarters of consumers want to continue to schedule their own appointments online. More than eight in 10 prefer an online or mobile-related registration experience. Rather than wait in a long customer service queue, patients can make, cancel, or reschedule appointments with the push of a button. Patients of all ages like having a flexible and frictionless way to manage their care, so why would they choose a provider that doesn’t offer online self-scheduling as part of the mix? 24/7 self-scheduling reduces barriers to care In addition to meeting consumer expectations, 24/7 self-scheduling also helps providers overcome many new and existing consumer challenges in the wake of the pandemic. Patients can be blocked from accessing the care they need for all sorts of reasons – financial worries, lack of transportation, lack of time to phone and book appointments, and/or cultural barriers to seeking support. As with many public health challenges, those who experience the greatest social and economic challenges have also been hardest hit by the pandemic. While many of these issues aren’t easily resolved by any one organization, self-scheduling does offer a route around several barriers to care. By simply offering a more flexible way to book and cancel appointments and interact with their provider, self-scheduling platforms allow patients to make plans in a way that fits their circumstances. Inconvenient business hours and long waits for available appointments become less of a concern. And with automated patient outreach, providers can make the process even easier, by sending text or email reminders to specific groups of patients to make sure they get the care they need. Digital self-scheduling eases call center bottlenecks Giving patients the ability to book their own appointments online also eases the burden on call center staff. Setting up staff to work remotely, while managing an influx of patients scrambling to book COVID-19 tests and vaccinations, created many pain points throughout the pandemic. First come, first serve scheduling options create bottlenecks in call volume, and when patients can’t get through to cancel appointments they can no longer attend, those slots sit unused – wasting physician time. As patients look to reschedule deferred care, 24/7 self-scheduling can minimize these bottlenecks by relieving pressure on call center staff and spread the load across multiple channels. Call center agents can reallocate their time to higher-priority inquiries. Call times can be cut because agents will have integrated access to disparate electronic health records and project management systems. Training time can also be reduced through simplified online systems. It’s no wonder that 71% of providers offer (or plan to offer) online self-scheduling options. Building a self-scheduling ecosystem that’s fit for the future Digital self-scheduling systems implemented during the pandemic should become a permanent feature in patient access. Providers that want to create an attractive patient experience should expand their digital self-scheduling offering beyond simply booking appointments. Multiple specialty services can be integrated into the scheduling system to streamline referrals. Telehealth services that gained so much ground over the last 18 months can be connected to online scheduling tools so they’re fully embedded going forward. Digital payment options and coverage functions can also be linked to scheduling platforms, for a seamless end-to-end digital patient experience. Find out how Experian Health’s 24/7 online patient scheduling software can help your organization deliver an optimal patient experience, improve call center productivity, and reduce revenue loss as the healthcare industry adapts to the new digital landscape. Download our white paper to get patient-provider perspectives on self-scheduling and other digital trends.

In November 2020, Experian Health conducted a survey to capture consumer and provider attitudes regarding patient access. At the height of the pandemic, patients welcomed telehealth services and maintained their distance from hospital waiting rooms. Providers scrambled to implement and provide digital services that would help them maintain quality care for their patients. In June 2021, we revisited these questions to see if healthcare providers and patients changed their views on the state of patient access: The pandemic has forced rethinking how to “do” healthcare in the digital age. Patients want flexible, convenient, and contactless care; providers need to continue providing these services. Download the white paper for the full survey results and get strategies to plan for the future of healthcare.

This is the first in a series of blog posts exploring how the patient journey has transformed as a result of COVID-19. This series will take you through the changes that impacted every step of the patient journey and provide strategic recommendations to move forward. In this post, we explore the role of healthcare marketing in acquiring and re-engaging patients as they return for care. Read the full white paper here. The healthcare industry’s overnight switch to digital-first operations put marketers and patient engagement teams at the heart of the new patient-provider relationship. From helping patients navigate online services and contactless care to providing timely information about COVID-19, proactive communications became a matter of life and death. Now, the challenge has shifted again. With a growing number of patients moving locations, changing jobs, and switching health plans, healthcare providers must strengthen their marketing outreach efforts to welcome new consumers and reconnect with existing ones. Finding new strategies to communicate effectively and pointing consumers to the right services at the right time will be key to financial recovery post-pandemic. Here, we look at four opportunities that healthcare marketers and patient outreach teams can incorporate into their post-pandemic playbook. Opportunity 1: Get your records straight before investing in new healthcare marketing strategies As patients’ circumstances changed, many found their health records were out of date. Addresses were incorrect. Insurance records were incomplete. Some individuals accidentally set up duplicate accounts when registering for online services. For providers, this amplified a challenge that existed long before the pandemic – finding ways to ensure accurate patient identities. A recent survey by Experian Health found that patients welcome proactive outreach by providers, though many say their providers fail to do this. Nearly half of providers say they want to, but inaccurate or incomplete patient data gets in the way. Investing in marketing and outreach strategies is money down the drain unless providers can verify that the information they have for each patient is reliable. An identity management tool such as can confirm names, addresses and other demographic details of existing patients and those who have recently moved to the area – to correctly match their information at every digital and in-person touchpoint. Opportunity 2: Build personalized patient outreach strategies based on consumer insights Next, providers can enrich patient identities with originally sourced consumer data for a comprehensive picture of who their patients are. When providers can confirm who their patients are, what they need, how they spend their time and money, and how they like to communicate, they can build personalized outreach strategies to improve patient acquisition and retention. For example, providers have new opportunities to offer telehealth access for patients in their preferred language. Experian offers 196 language codes that can be applied based on individual patient profiles, so you can connect patients to the right physician. For patients who are new to the area, communication that reflects their lifestyles, preferred channels, and personal interests will help maintain loyalty and provide better customer experiences. The aftermath of the shift to online and digital healthcare tools has been polarizing, with some patients feeling hesitant to engage with unfamiliar tools. Others expect a more sophisticated digital experience that matches their interactions in retail and entertainment. Knowing which camp patients identify with will help your patient outreach team discern which tools and guidance to offer to which patients. With ConsumerView, you can differentiate your services from other health systems vying for the same consumers, and offer a tailored engagement experience. Opportunity 3: Reduce readmission risk with data on social determinants of health Knowing whether your new and existing patients are affected by social determinants of health (SDOH) can also help tailor outreach communications. This can help them overcome access challenges and reduce the risk of readmission. Understanding if patients are at risk of missing appointments or struggling to follow a care plan because of food insecurity, isolation, lack of transportation, cultural exclusion, or financial limitations, can help providers point them to relevant community programs and financial support. By understanding patient barriers, providers will be able to communicate more effectively with their patients. For example, a conversation with someone who is experiencing unexpected, short-term financial difficulties as a result of losing their job in the pandemic would be much different than a conversation with someone who has been unemployed and low-income for many years. Opportunity 4: Reschedule deferred care by marketing online scheduling platforms Seven in ten patients deferred or canceled treatment during the pandemic. Providers must figure out where those patients are and what their (potentially more serious) healthcare needs may be. Re-engaging and rebuilding relationships with these patients is critical to encourage them to come back for care. Marketing teams play a major role in raising the visibility of non-coronavirus health issues and the need to reschedule care and return to a pre-pandemic healthcare routine. Third-party data can fill in the gaps in patient identities, so providers can identify specific needs and worries, determine the best contact information for each patient, and re-engage effectively. Online scheduling platforms will be especially important. These platforms can help patients reschedule appointments at their convenience, connect them to telehealth services, and overcome some of the practical barriers to care. Find out how Experian Health can help your organization access new sources of data and see how your patient community has changed since March 2020, down to the individual level. By combining identity management software with accurate consumer insights, your marketing and outreach teams will be armed with everything they need to attract and retain satisfied consumers. Download our white paper to see how other steps of the patient journey have evolved since the onset of COVID-19.