How Digital-First Can Transform Patient Experience

By Samantha Nelson, VP of Contact Center

Hi, everyone! In this installment of my “CX in 2023” blog series, I’m excited to dive deep into the “digital-first” strategy I mentioned in part one.   

To jog your memory, a digital-first strategy prioritizes the use of digital technologies and platforms in business operations and customer engagement. The ultimate goals are to improve overall efficiency, reach a wider audience, and offer a significantly better customer experience. Digital technologies that are part of this approach include mobile applications, social media channels, and websites. This allows businesses to engage with customers based on how they prefer to interact.  

Many of my partners ask me how they can help customers better visualize a digital-first strategy for their specific vertical. It’s a great question, and the answer differs depending on which vertical you are servicing. Let’s start with healthcare companies (e.g., clinics or insurance providers). There are several ways for these organizations to adopt a digital-first approach for an improved patient/member experience: 

• Implementing Electronic Health Records (EHRs): EHRs enable healthcare providers to store patient data electronically and access it from anywhere, anytime. This not only improves the accuracy and completeness of patient information but also increases efficiency and reduces the risk of errors associated with manual record-keeping. (Do you notice how your doctor’s office doesn’t have manila file folders lining their walls anymore? That’s progress!) While you probably aren’t in the business of selling EHRs, you certainly have an opportunity to sell the technology that augments the experience. For example, in a healthcare contact center, the users may be using EPIC and Cerner, but through Telarus’ portfolio, you have access to the software that handles interactions (calls, emails, texts, etc).

• Telemedicine: Telemedicine enables patients to receive medical consultations and treatment remotely, through video conferencing or other forms of digital communication. This can help healthcare companies reach more patients and provide access to care in remote or underserved areas. With everyone getting used to remote workforce dynamics, several provider-patient interactions occur digitally. With the wide adoption rates of telemedicine due to the pandemic, Telarus is seeing a significant spike in digital engagement technologies to support patients across several channels, including chat, email, and social media platforms.

• Digital Marketing and Communication: Healthcare companies can leverage these components to reach, engage, and retain patients, including using social media, email marketing, and online advertising to promote their services and build their brand. There are several platforms that can assist marketing teams to proactively identify patient feedback across multiple digital channels. For example, if a patient shares an experience on a social forum, the team can address the experience directly with that patient.

• Mobile Applications: Healthcare companies can develop mobile apps that enable patients to access health information, track their symptoms and medications, communicate with their healthcare providers, and make appointments – all to promote a more seamless consumer experience that patients have come to expect in today’s Amazon era. In other words, “There’s an app for that!”

• Big Data and Analytics: Healthcare companies can use big data and analytics to gain insights into patient behavior, treatment outcomes, and other health metrics and use this information to improve patient care and inform decision-making. For example, suppose I’m a patient who consistently ignores phone calls, but answers quickly via SMS. In that case, a healthcare company could automatically remind me via SMS about things like upcoming appointments and prescription refills.

• Cloud Computing: Healthcare companies can use cloud computing to store and manage vast amounts of patient data securely, as well as support other digital initiatives such as telemedicine and EHRs. While the cloud was once a scary word for healthcare leaders (“You want me to put my precious patient and business data where?!”), it is becoming more widely accepted as the industry standard. It offers significant security and cost benefits not typically available with on-premise solutions and protects sensitive data against intruders, natural disasters, sharp demand increases, etc. 

• Cybersecurity: With the increasing reliance on digital technologies, it’s critical for healthcare companies to have strong cybersecurity measures in place to protect sensitive patient data and prevent cyber-attacks. Just consider the increasing popularity of ransomware attacks, with 56% of global healthcare organizations reporting at least one attack during the pandemic. The impact for healthcare isn’t just operational, as it extends to patient length-of-stay, poor patient outcomes, and complications in medical procedures.

As the healthcare sector becomes more and more competitive, this is the perfect time for technology advisors to have conversations around digital-first opportunities. As always, Telarus is here to help. 

Curious about the digital-first approach for other verticals? Stay tuned for my next blog post, where I’ll dive into financial services. 

Let’s Connect: To learn more about CX and how Telarus tools, solutions, and services can help accelerate your business, contact me at snelson@telarus.com. Also, be sure to tune in to my new, weekly video series, “Sam’s Minute Snippets,” for more on the latest trends in CX.