Healthcare professionals are looking for ways to engage patients before, during, and after an episode of care. Engaging patients is not only the right thing to do, it can also contribute to the improved financial performance, regardless of whether an organization is operating under fee-for-service or value-based care.
The fundamental goal of any medical practice is naturally to treat illnesses and to help people. Beyond this, though, a practice must be able to keep its lights on and its staff paid. Without this, the fundamental goals become unattainable.
Controlling costs involves the following:
- Using Practice Metrics / Key Practice Indicators (KPI)
- Benchmarking
- Tracking Specific Metrics
- Raising the ROI of Technology Investments
- Achieving an ROI on Technology Investments such as EMR Software
- Maximizing Long-term Adoption and Satisfaction
To further reduce costs, research shows that physicians can achieve significant savings by focusing care interventions not just on the most at-risk patients but on those with emerging risks. While it’s difficult to make impactful interventions once a patient is in the high-risk category, focusing on patients in the emerging-risk category can help keep them from becoming high risk.
The ROI for implementing patient engagement tools is substantial. While the gains made by its use might not be apparent in the way standard reimbursement would be, but it will pay for itself quickly if used properly and efficiently. Moreover, patients are demanding such tools: 76% of patients say that their overall medical practice experience would be improved if the practice would implement patient engagement technology, such as an online portal and email system.
Furthermore, patients’ preferences for communication channels are changing: 62% of patients stated that their preferred method of communicating with their medical service provider was via email rather than by phone. In addition, 64% of patients preferred to schedule appointments online, and 90% want to share decision making responsibilities about their treatment with their physician.
It is not just a matter of keeping up with the times and modern technology for the sake of doing so. Patient engagement technology is a direct reflection of what patients want. Two out of three patients have stated that they would switch providers if the new provider made use of technology such as a patient portal as opposed to their current one not doing so. Providers who don’t make this commitment to improving the overall patient experience through implementing these tools clearly risk losing patients.