Kyruus Blog

This is the first in a three part series focused on helping healthcare leaders understand how different generations access care to improve engagement and brand loyalty.

Did you know that millennials are projected to overtake Baby Boomers as the largest generation in 2019? In 2016, they numbered 71 million, while Baby Boomers numbered 74 million.¹ However, with millennials about to represent the largest contingency of the US population, health systems need to strategize ways to not only understand the needs of these younger consumers, but also develop programs to capture their attention and win their loyalty. 

Central to most health systems' patient access strategies is some version of "the 3 rights" - right care, right place, right time. These three dimensions are patient and health system focused, addressing both clinical and convenience factors that are important to patients, while also speaking to a health system's cost structure. However they don't sufficiently address factors that are important to the provider. "The 5 rights" builds upon the original three, adding “right patient” and “right preparation” in acknowledgement of the provider's integral role in maximizing the clinical appropriateness of a scheduled appointment.

Whether it was looking for a repairman or deciding which PCP to book with, the way we shopped for products and services was drastically different 10 years ago. Historically, many of us relied on family members and friends for recommendations and few, if any, comparison tools existed to validate those options. However, as the internet matured rapidly, consumer behavior started to change. We became less focused on brick-in-mortar experiences and more focused on digital ones. And today’s online patient behavior is no different. Patients want to weigh their options and they are looking to health systems to make information about their providers and services easily accessible online. Adapting to this shift and treating patients as savvy consumers will be imperative to maintaining relevance in an evolving–and increasingly competitive–digital landscape.

Earlier this week we were fortunate to host some of the country’s pre-eminent thought leaders at what was our sixth Annual Thought Leadership on Access Symposium (ATLAS). This year’s theme was “Expanding Boundaries. Removing Barriers.” “Expanding Boundaries” let us explore inspiring ways health system leaders are innovating around patient access and responding to industry dynamics, which increasingly point to a shift in care delivery outside of the walls of health systems. 

With consumers increasingly turning to the web to search for care, enhancing their digital presence is a key priority for many health systems. This was particularly important for newly-formed Prisma Health (formerly Greenville Health System and Palmetto Health), who, though not new to healthcare, was a new brand to consumers. On our recent webinar, “Putting Providers at the Forefront of Access,” Prisma Chief Digital Officer, Dr. Nick Patel, spoke with Kyruus CEO and Co-Founder, Dr. Graham Gardner, about their initiative to transform patient access online and how they engaged providers in the process.

The Annual Thought Leadership on Access Symposium (ATLAS) is just around the corner! The sixth annual ATLAS will be held in Boston from September 23 - 24. To kick off our event, we are thrilled to host Dr. Toby Cosgrove, former President & CEO to Cleveland Clinic and current advisor to Google, Health Cloud and Life Sciences. 

It is becoming increasingly clear: patients want better access to care and more convenient options. Even though healthcare has traditionally been far behind digital advancements, especially compared to the retail and service industries, health systems are waking up. However, while the majority of their efforts have been focused on the consumer and meeting their expectations, for organizations to truly differentiate their digital front door, they must listen to the voice of their providers and engage them in the process.

More than 2/3 of consumers would choose a provider based on the ability to book appointments online.¹ To meet this growing demand, health systems are searching for ways to offer patients the same level of convenience and choice they’ve grown accustomed to when booking appointments online in other industries.

The countdown to the Annual Thought Leadership on Access Symposium (ATLAS) is on! Now into its sixth year, ATLAS will be held in Boston from September 23 - 24. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Expanding Boundaries. Removing Barriers.’ and health system leaders will come together to share best practices and explore ways to innovate and expand patient access enterprise-wide. 

We kept attendees top-of-mind while designing this year’s program. The schedule is meant to spark discussions around new ways to engage patients and modernize the patient experience.

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.