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To take advantage of patient interaction opportunities, hospitals and health systems use websites, phone calls, email, and, more recently, texting.
Fremont, CA: To take advantage of patient interaction possibilities, hospitals and health systems use a variety of channels such as websites, phone calls, email, and, more recently, texting. However, many approaches, such as direct mail, are considered obsolete and for a good cause. According to studies conducted over the previous two decades, administrative expenditures (including patient marketing) can cost health systems approximately 600 billion dollars and 1 trillion dollars per year. So it stands to reason that health officials seek methods to save costs while improving the digital patient experience. This frequently entails making the most of current technology investments, like patient portals and EHRs.
The Problem: Excessive Reliance on Patient Portals and Manual Outreach
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The patient portal is the primary form of patient involvement for over half of the health IT leaders polled. In addition, while a 90 percent of physicians give access to a patient portal, only 30 percent of patients have incorporated the technology into their everyday life, making it useless to route all engagement activities through portals.
Manual, phone-based canvassing is still common. However, using this labor-intensive technique of patient contact strains personnel, increases call center expenses and degrades the patient experience. Indeed, over one-third of executives polled said that manual phone calls were still the primary means of patient communication at their health system or hospital. Moreover, as the majority of Americans tend to ignore calls from unknown numbers, reaching patients by phone leads to frustrated staff and disappointed patients as staffing limitations continue to pressure hospitals and health systems.
While half of the respondents stated they wish to invest in technology that allows them to communicate with patients through text, just around 40 percent are presently using SMS for patient engagement possibilities such as recalls, referral management, and appointment self-scheduling or rescheduling.
Text messaging, or SMS, is a tried and true method of addressing these issues, and patients prefer it over email, phone, and postal letters. However, even though its simple to install for healthcare companies and user-friendly for employees, this communication approach has found modest acceptance. For one thing, firms have already invested heavily in their patient portals and are unaware of the benefits of a multi-channel approach, in which SMS increases portal utilization.
The most potent digital engagement solutions can automate and optimize this complicated operation. This is accomplished by utilizing the EHR's appointment information to send a cadence of just-in-time text messages that include: strategically timed appointment reminders, reminders to pick up prep from the pharmacy, and links to a patient portal in which patients can learn information on the procedure and its benefits.
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