Hospitals and health systems have significantly accelerated their technology roadmaps and advanced their digital strategies by leaps and bounds over the last few years. Just to make sure we have all not forgotten, it was only a few short years ago when provider directories looked more like the yellow pages than a modern 21st-century webpage.
It shouldn’t be missed, however, that consumer demand for convenient, digital access and self-service has also increased dramatically over this period. As a result, there is still a substantial opportunity for hospitals and health systems to streamline access to care and meet permanently-elevated consumer expectations.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Today when searching for a provider online — specifically, on one of the top 20 U.S. News and World Report ranked hospital’s websites—consumers will most likely encounter a number of consumer-friendly features.
Those include clinical and lay terms that make the search process more user-friendly and help to ensure that the provider has the right expertise. There’s also typeahead functionality with predictive search results that simplify the search process. Additionally, consumers consistently find global integrated site search, including both providers and locations, which creates a more streamlined experience.
Going further, visitors to top hospitals’ sites find detailed provider profiles that facilitate the patient-provider match process with consumer-friendly information—such as patient ratings and reviews and provider photos. They also encounter calls to action that are clear and prominent, allowing the end user to understand the next step in the process.
All of these modern features make it easier for consumers to engage with the content, search for and select a provider, and ultimately book an appointment. But consumers want more.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Healthcare consumers today desire the same digital self-service and user-friendly experiences they have become accustomed to in all facets of their lives. The digital experience within the top 20 U.S. health systems still has room for improvement when serving both existing and new patients.
Here are five key capabilities that all health systems should consider adding to their digital repertoire. Doing so will streamline the process for consumers to discover, select and schedule care.
1. Appointment availability in provider search results
In a recent survey, over 80% of healthcare consumers said appointment availability was very or extremely important when selecting a new healthcare provider. Displaying real-time availability in search gives consumers the priority information they’re seeking, and that allows them to select the most convenient choice for care.
Yet despite the clear desire for this information, only one (5%) of the top 20 U.S. health systems indicated which providers had upcoming availability or displayed real-time availability in provider search results.
2. Provider scheduling
Enabling online scheduling is critically important to the consumer experience. Consumers continue to prioritize access to online scheduling in their choice for care. Almost 60% of those who prefer online booking say they’d switch providers to have this option.
Many health systems offer online scheduling for already established patients — for example, through a patient portal — but have not yet invested to convert online demand from new patients. Among the top U.S. health systems, less than half (40%) offer online scheduling for new patients within their find-a-provider, revealing a major gap in online patient access.
3. Service-based scheduling
While provider-centric online scheduling is the most prominent opportunity for health systems, it isn’t the only one.
Consumers are now thinking more broadly about scheduling care online for a range of services. That includes urgent care, imaging, labs and vaccines to name a few. However, only 10% of the top U.S. health systems offered online scheduling for broader healthcare services (i.e., beyond scheduling an appointment with a specific provider) within their find-a-provider search.
By offering this, health systems can differentiate themselves to online consumers.
4. Virtual care scheduling
Consumers are also interested in the flexibility of hybrid care models that enable them to receive care through a combination of virtual and in-person visits. For example, over 40% of consumers indicated a preference for accessing routine or mental healthcare services virtually or through a combination of virtual and in-person visits. But only 35% of the top U.S. hospitals offer new patients the option to schedule a virtual visit online within their find-a-provider.
Providing the flexibility of virtual care options, such as on-demand urgent care or scheduled visits across a variety of providers and services, is a key differentiator for health systems online.
5. Digital access beyond the website
Recent research has shown that after healthcare organization websites, consumers searching for care online are most likely to conduct a general internet search (53%) and/or visit a health plan website (52%). Additionally, consumers are increasingly turning to mobile apps.
While many of the top 20 health systems have mobile apps for existing patients (e.g., a patient portal app), just over one-third (35%) have a mobile app that enables new patients to find and schedule care without requiring them to create an account upfront. Health systems have a significant opportunity to look beyond their websites and integrate these key channels — Google searches, health plan websites and mobile apps — into their digital access strategies to enable new and existing patients to easily discover, select and schedule care online.
The race to pace with changing patient access preferences continues to present major opportunities for improvement in the digital landscape. There is a distinct opportunity to provide more consumer-centric self-service options for selecting care and booking appointments online.
As hospitals and health systems look ahead, they should consider adding the capabilities noted above. These capabilities will help health systems to allow consumers to engage proactively, converting their interest to booked appointments and offering the convenience and flexibility that keeps them coming back to arrange future care online.
Photo: elenabs, Getty Images
Scott Andrews is the General Manager, Health Systems at Kyruus, where he is responsible for all aspects of the business unit, including sales, marketing, product development, account management, professional services, and ongoing customer success. Previously he was Chief Customer Officer at Kyruus, responsible for account management, implementations, customer success, and ongoing support of the customer base. Prior to joining Kyruus, Scott worked at athenahealth for 17 years where he served in leadership roles in Client Services, Operations, and Finance. Most recently he was the Senior Vice President of athenaCare responsible for managing the onboarding, optimization, and support of the athenahealth customer base. Before athenahealth, Scott was a manager at Tufts Health Plan responsible for financial and regulatory reporting. He was also a manager in the Health Care practice at Ernst & Young and earned a Certified Public Accountant designation. Scott obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from St. Michael's College in 1990.
