Today, the healthcare world is patient-driven, and that has made patient engagement imperative. Consumers look for satisfying healthcare experiences. To keep up with patients’ expectations, you need to take advantage of healthcare technology such as patient portals, mobile health, telehealth and health CRM. Technology helps improve communication and engagement, leading to better retention and long-term relationships. For effective relationship-building, you need to approach the targeted audience with the right message through the right technology.
Patient portal
Your website becomes interactive in real terms when it includes a patient portal. It is a mode of direct communication between you and your patients. Also, the patient portal allows people to schedule appointments, refill medication and check their test results.
It does involve time and money, but most important is to win patients’ trust. Many people are skeptical about their privacy. So you need to abide by the HIPAA rules and regulations. Highlight the benefits of a patient portal and how this technology will ease the patients’ lives. You can teach your patients how to use the patient portal during an in-person appointment.
mHealth
Mobile phones have become part and parcel of our lives. Most people prefer browsing the Internet on their mobile phone instead of laptops. This helps you attract millennial patients. Your website must have a responsive design and be compatible with mobile devices so that people can manage their appointments and share their health data on-the-go.
With mHealth, you can connect with your patients and develop strong relationships, especially with the ones who don’t meet you in person. Mobile apps are another attraction for patients. ZocDoc health app is a successful mobile feature downloaded by people for easy appointment-scheduling.
Telehealth
Providing distant healthcare services through video communication is known as telehealth technology. It allows patients to communicate with you anywhere and anytime, establishing trust and long-term relationships. This helps you widen your scope and approach more patients. With Internet access, people prefer communicating via text messages, emails or video instead of a physical visit. This saves a lot of time for consumers and allows you to attend to more patients in a day.
It improves the quality of care offered to patients by letting you monitor their conditions at home and guiding them on treatment. This even reduces readmissions to hospitals. Telehealth is a care delivery vehicle that caters its service to a vast audience. It is a blessing for people who have a busy lifestyle and don’t find time to visit you in person.
Customer relationship management
Customer relationship management (CRM) is another technology to establish strong physician-patient relationships. CRM is a storage house of health records and consumer data. It helps you approach target patients at the right time.
Before launching a mail campaign or publishing a social media post, you can segment the target audience based on age, gender, location, medical conditions, lifestyles and preferences. This promotes positive response and reduces the chances of being labeled a spammer.
To sustain and grow in the competitive healthcare world, you need to find and try new strategies to engage with more patients every day. With the changing behavior of your consumers, you need to involve them through technological or in-person strategies. Take time to listen to your patients and understand what they what to learn about. Be specific with the advice you give to your patient at that stage of their journey.