Kyruus Blog

Without question COVID-19 has caused incredible disruption to industries across the board, with the healthcare sector experiencing some of the greatest challenges. At the same time, however, the pandemic has been a catalyst for rapid innovation, revealing opportunities to rethink and transform approaches to care delivery and access. From learning to operate remote call centers to looking for more digitally-enabled ways to engage with patients (e.g., virtual care, virtual assistants), the pandemic has pushed health systems to reimagine—and quickly—their approaches to enabling patient access.

  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.

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.

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.