Kyruus Blog

In a recent study, over 2/3 of patients reported that they are more likely to choose providers who offer the ability to book appointments online.¹ And while health systems recognize this demand and see the clear benefits to offering online scheduling, developing an effective strategy is easier said than done. In fact, on our recent webinar, Katie Logan, VP of Experience at Piedmont Healthcare, acknowledged that their first run at implementing online scheduling didn’t produce the results they had wanted. Achieving the positive impact–on their business and their patients–they’ve seen with online scheduling today required Piedmont to take a new approach, one that put the patient and their journey at the center.

Watch the Piedmont Booking Experience Yourself

As technology becomes increasingly involved in all aspects of our lives, today’s patients are looking to interact with health systems in new ways, whether it’s communicating with a provider via video or booking their next appointment online. And while ⅔ of patients are more likely to choose a provider with online scheduling, according to a recent study, few organizations offer the modern digital capabilities patients have come to expect from their healthcare experience.¹

Last week, members of our team attended the Becker’s Annual Meeting in Chicago and had the opportunity to hear from health system executives and other industry leaders about the challenges they face and the opportunities they see around the evolving healthcare landscape. Across sessions, discussions focused on the ways in which health systems are rethinking patient engagement strategies and innovating to better meet the needs of today’s healthcare consumers. In particular, the following emerged as key themes:

As health systems pursue strategic initiatives around improving patient experience and expanding access, capturing the right metrics is critical to ensuring their goals are met. Historically, health system access centers have used "call time" data to measure their efficiency and value, attempting to keep patient calls short in order to handle a higher volume of calls. And while this metric may make sense for other consumer industries, a call time KPI is no longer the most important metric to track for health systems. Why? With market competition rising and consumers prioritizing experience, access centers should instead measure how easy it is for a patient to get to the right provider at the right time.

As the first point of contact for many consumers searching for care, your access center and your agents are essential ambassadors of your brand. And in an era where patient loyalty is up for grabs, delivering personalized service over the phone can transform a single call into a lifelong relationship with your health system. On our recent webinar, Dave Kriesand, Vice President of Banner Health’s Customer Experience Center, shared how they’re differentiating their access experience by making it easier for patients to find care that meets their unique needs. 

In recent years, patient experience has transformed from an industry buzzword to a serious initiative for many of the country’s leading health systems. Why? As patients become savvy consumers and their options for care expand, they are prioritizing things like experience and quality of care and are willing to switch organizations to get it. In fact, a new Press Ganey report revealed that patient experience is 5x more effective than marketing tactics at driving patient loyalty.¹

There are many frameworks available to start developing your chatbot solution, for example, Google’s Dialogflow, Amazon Alexa, or Bot Framework from Microsoft. The benefits of using any one of these are undeniable: you can stand up a minimum viable product quickly. Without having prior AI knowledge, you can design the chatbot to fit your domain and integrate it with other services you already use. Some of them even have free offerings with sufficient capabilities to test your ideas, without investing a lot of time and cost.

2018 marked a year of disruption across the healthcare landscape. From the entrance of new players, like Amazon, JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway, to the mergers of prominent health systems, like Mercy Health and Bon Secours, organizations across the space were driven by a desire to meet consumer expectations for a more connected, patient-centric experience.

“Hello? I’d like to schedule an appointment with Doctor Famous.”

Many consumers rely on a familiar name when selecting a provider, whether it’s one they read about in US News and World Report’s latest hospital rankings or a recommendation from a neighbor or family member. But often times, when consumers call to schedule with these providers, they find that “Doctor Famous” is booked out for weeks, if not months. With convenience being a top priority for many consumers, waiting that long just isn’t an option. If this is the case, how does one begin the process of finding another provider that they trust?

Today’s consumers are “shopping” for healthcare now more than ever. And while convenient care options and access to rich provider information are driving healthcare consumers’ decisions around selecting care, insights from our second annual patient access report show that cohesiveness in the patient access experience is lacking.