What is a patient engagement platform?
A patient engagement platform is a suite of digital tools that help patients more easily self-manage their care. By implementing a patient engagement platform, healthcare organizations can empower patients to connect with their providers from anywhere at any time—all from their own personal device.
Patient engagement platforms include features that allow patients and providers to communicate asynchronously—such as secure messaging via email—as well as real-time engagement capabilities, such as live online chat.
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Why implement a patient engagement platform?
Patient engagement platforms give patients more flexibility and control over their care—an important differentiator for healthcare organizations looking to attract and retain patients, research shows.
In a 2022 Phreesia survey, nearly 40% of patients said the ability to schedule, reschedule and confirm a medical appointment online is a “must-have” when choosing a doctor—and most of them (84%) would book their appointments online, if given the option. Indeed, patients want easy ways to connect with healthcare organizations. But when it’s difficult or time-consuming to do so, they’re likely to neglect important care—or even switch providers entirely.
A patient engagement platform addresses these challenges by giving patients the convenience they expect via the digital tools and channels they most prefer. Read on to learn which components of a patient engagement platform can help healthcare organizations meet patients’ expectations and preferences.
Digital outreach campaigns
With digital outreach campaigns, healthcare organizations can connect with patients anytime—before, during and after their visit—with targeted messages that engage them in their care and drive follow-up appointments.
Provider organizations can use digital outreach campaigns to:
- Educate patients about relevant resources or services to address their health needs
- Remind patients to schedule important visits, such as routine immunizations or annual physical exams
- Recall patients for canceled or no-show appointments
- Convert upcoming in-office visits to telehealth, as needed
When providers send information via email, through social media or from a patient portal, they’re able to support patients in taking a more active role in their care. Digital outreach also helps patients remember to schedule regular appointments—and gives them an easy way to book a visit via a scheduling link.
Two-way text messaging
Text messaging is a fast, convenient way for providers to communicate directly with patients. It’s also one of the primary ways patients want to be reached, with 55% of Phreesia-surveyed patients saying they prefer to communicate with their providers via text message.
SDOH screenings
Social determinants of health (SDOH) play a determining role in patients’ care decisions and health outcomes. Even if patients want their providers to ask about social needs—as indicated in a 2019 Kaiser Permanente survey—many doctors simply don’t have time to do so. And given the sensitive nature of the questions, patients may not feel comfortable opening up about certain social risks, such as housing instability or food insecurity.
With a patient engagement platform, patients can answer sensitive questions about their access to healthy food, safe housing and other SDOH factors privately during intake, helping them avoid an uncomfortable face-to-face conversation.
Many patient engagement platforms send SDOH information directly to a healthcare organization’s PM or EHR system. When providers have the information they need before the visit, they can deliver more personalized care and connect the right patients to the right resources. In addition, digital SDOH screenings can help administrators meet reporting requirements for a variety of quality programs, such as HEDIS, CAHPS, MIPS and more.
Automated surveys
Patient satisfaction surveys help healthcare organizations collect valuable feedback directly from patients, yet traditional surveying methods are often time-consuming. But with automated survey distribution, healthcare organizations can gather actionable feedback faster and easier—and with fewer hard costs.
Instead of asking patients to fill out a paper form, healthcare organizations can automatically send surveys to a patient’s mobile device, giving them the flexibility to complete it on their own time. Then, administrative staff can analyze aggregate or patient-level survey results to:
- Qualitatively measure patients’ healthcare experiences
- Evaluate the success of tools like mobile check-in, online appointment scheduling, and flexible payment options
- Identify key drivers of patient satisfaction
- Inform quality improvement efforts
To maximize the impact of automated surveys, consider implementing a platform that automatically prompts satisfied patients to leave an online review—and alerts staff when patients leave negative feedback so they can promptly resolve any issues.
Broadcast announcements
Broadcast announcements enable healthcare organizations to send branded emails that keep patients apprised of operational changes, such as new hours, policies or protocols. By engaging patients via the communication channels they most prefer, healthcare organizations can provide timely updates at the population level without relying on staff to disseminate important information.
Broadcast announcements also can help healthcare organizations promote health and wellness tips, new service lines and more. These messages keep providers top of mind with patients, so when it’s time to schedule a visit, they know who they’re going to contact first.
Analytics and reporting
After implementing a patient engagement platform, it’s important for healthcare organizations to assess their results. With analytics and reporting tools, healthcare leaders can gain real-time visibility into how patients are interacting with the messages and content they receive.
By tracking open rates, click rates and other metrics, groups can better assess which types of engagement are resonating with patients and refine any strategies that aren’t working as expected. Those insights can answer key questions like, “Are no-shows decreasing?” or “Are your long wait times resulting in lower satisfaction scores?” which can help drive improvements.
The bottom line
Patient engagement platforms give healthcare organizations the data they need to deliver an exceptional patient experience. Patient engagement tools such as two-way text messaging and digital outreach campaigns open the lines of communication, while real-time analytics measure the effectiveness of outreach strategies. By implementing a platform with all these components, healthcare organizations can better engage patients and keep them coming back.