Kyruus Blog

In a previous blog post, we looked at how outdated provider directories can negatively impact patient access. This post explores the importance of effective provider data management and accurate provider directories in streamlining key operational processes across a health system.

There are so many digital marketing metrics to track, it can leave marketers with a serious case of TMI. Having too much data is overwhelming and looking at the wrong data is a waste of time. The key is to find the data that illustrates the new website visitors you’ve acquired, but also shows opportunity for meaningful optimizations. That raises the question: what metrics matter most for your hospital or health system?

In 2015, Mercy Health (Cincinnati, OH) and Summa Health (Akron, OH) formed one of the largest clinically integrated networks (CINs) in Ohio, Advanced Health Select, to enhance chronic care management and lower the total cost of care for patients in Ohio and Kentucky. Their respective ACOs were the first networks to join the CIN, linking 2,800 providers. The CIN has since expanded to include closer to 3,500 providers. We were pleased to host two leaders from these health systems on a recent webinar: J.D. Whitlock, VP of Enterprise Intelligence at Mercy Health and Ellen Smith, VP of Business Development & Access at Summa Health. Here were some of the top takeaways:

This is the third post in our Call Center Patient Experience Series. Over the course of this three post series, we’ve explored some of the top barriers to patient access through health system call centers and how they impede a positive patient experience: outdated provider directories, limited patient-provider matching capabilities, and lack of visibility into provider availability.

This is the second post in our Call Center Patient Experience Series. Over the course of this three post series, we’ll explore some of the top barriers to patient access through health system call centers and how they impede a positive patient experience: outdated provider directories, lack of patient-provider matching capabilities, and insight into provider availability.

As I sit at our NewCo Boston event in a room with almost 30 people, everyone is nodding their head as Julie Yoo, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Kyruus, speaks about how Kyruus was started. It’s in this moment that it dawns on me...we’re all patients. Regardless of where we come from, what our life experiences have been, or what industry we work in, we have all experienced the issues Julie is speaking of in one way or another. We have all experienced the “patient access paradox,” where patients are being told to wait weeks, if not months, before they can see a physician, despite hospitals and health systems commonly operating at only 60-70% capacity. Even more so, in 25% of cases patients end up being misdirected to the wrong provider, leading to waste and delays in care.

As we explored in an earlier blog, hospitals and health systems are struggling to deliver a great patient experience through their call centers – often the “front door” to their organization – due in large part to barriers to patient access. Over the course of a three post series, we’ll explore some of these top barriers and how they impede a positive patient experience: outdated provider directories, lack of patient-provider matching capabilities, and insight into provider availability.

Provider Directories & Patient Access

While demand for online self-service capabilities continues to rise, many patients still connect with a health system the old-fashioned way – over the phone. However, access centers frequently lack the resources to provide an effective, high-touch patient experience. In fact, our recent secret shopper report found that 82% of call centers were unable to book an appointment directly over the phone during the initial interaction. That’s not just a major barrier to patient access, it also means that most call centers are not equipped to deliver a call center experience that ends with a booked appointment, a big problem for converting demand and retaining patients in increasingly competitive markets.

We recently had the pleasure of hosting Aaron Martin, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Providence St. Joseph Health, and Shweta Ponnappa, Senior Director of Digital Marketing at Providence St Joseph Health, for a webinar titled Building & Owning Your Health System’s Brand: Strategies for Acquiring & Retaining Patients Online. Having both previously worked at Amazon, Aaron and Shweta shared how they’ve brought their insights from ecommerce to their work driving digital innovation at Providence St. Joseph Health, one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the US. They shared strategies for attracting and engaging patients online, as well as their perspectives on balancing investment in an organization’s own digital capabilities versus third-party listing sites.

Julie Yoo, Kyruus’ Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder, is passionate about improving patient access. Matthew Holt from The Health Care Blog caught up with her in an interview at HIMSS this year and came away saying she “may be one of the brightest people in health IT.”

Historically, healthcare providers have relied heavily on word of mouth to attract new patients. In many ways, this channel is still reliable as 50% of consumers report “friends and family” as their top resource for researching providers. But study after study has shown that healthcare consumers are spending more time online—from patient portals, to online appointment scheduling and health data tracking on mobile apps. Even when they do consult family members about a provider, many still go online to exercise due diligence, so it’s critical for health systems to differentiate themselves online.