Customer experience in healthcare

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Patient-consumers, as the phrase is increasingly known in the business, want more from their healthcare experience. Improving your client experience also implies having a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

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What is customer experience in healthcare?

In healthcare, consumer experience refers to how people view your healthcare company or a health system based on their online and offline interactions.

To improve the customer experience in healthcare, we must first learn what healthcare consumers genuinely require, which is frequently different from what we believe. Despite the fact that the industry has been talking about consumer-driven procedures for at least a decade, healthcare is still in its infancy. Low adoption rates hamper hospitals’ efforts to deliver a good digital patient experience, while payers continue to struggle with the development of meaningful, member-friendly portals.

The emergence of digital advancements such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) has changed the face of the healthcare industry’s consumer experience. Such technologies have the potential to significantly improve the consumer experience of healthcare providers, resulting in a higher customer satisfaction index and increased earnings.

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Pillars of customer experience in healthcare

Personalized care Healthcare customers want care tailored to their unique need.

Simple and streamlined process Patients don’t want to worry about how information goes from one location to another, thus the internal workings of data interchange in your company should have no impact on their care.

Limited wait times Customers do not want to spend hours at your office waiting for an appointment. A successful client experience requires promptness.

Transparency Healthcare customers expect open communication between doctors and patients. This openness goes from their medical information to the expenses of care.

Ease of access to care and care information Patients demand online portals where their health information is readily available, up to date, and easily accessible. Furthermore, health care providers should allow individuals to book, alter, or cancel appointments with ease.

Data security Patients want to know that their personal health information is safe.

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Opportunities for improvement in healthcare customer experience

In today’s competitive market, customer experience (CX) is the new decision-making driver. When it comes to consumer decisions, customer experience has become as crucial as or more essential than product and price.

Consumer-centric businesses and organizations are 60% more lucrative.

Consider the following healthcare industry areas that can benefit from upcoming digital innovation trends:

Subtle Experience 

Patients may be given a flawless end-to-end experience by enhancing interactions between healthcare providers and customers at multiple touchpoints. The use of new customer experience platforms may boost retention at each stage of the process, from selecting healthcare providers to scheduling visits. Patients want personalized experiences. And such hyper-personalized and world-class patient experiences are possible because of technology like AI, cloud solutions, live interactions, and big data.

Hyper-personalization 

Personalization is not a new concept in the healthcare industry. However, patient expectations, particularly those of millennials and Generation Z, have made it challenging for healthcare workers to deal with hyper-personalization. Personalization in healthcare may now go so far as to forecast possible health issues and provide round-the-clock remote live help. As a result, client loyalty has increased and corporate earnings have increased.

Assistance and live engagement 

Patients’ deteriorating health and commuting difficulties have made virtual healthcare consultations increasingly appealing. According to a Cisco survey, 74 percent of patients prefer a virtual doctor over a face-to-face session. As a result, most healthcare firms require live healthcare help via voice or video chat solutions.

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How can live interactions improve the customer experience?

The customer experience in healthcare is not limited to hospital visits. Healthcare providers may build long-term relationships with patients by offering the finest customer experience possible both before and after hospital visits.

Patients, particularly those with chronic conditions, are expected to engage with their doctors on a regular basis. In these circumstances, technologies like remote live engagement can increase customer happiness. Typically, patients would find it difficult to get to hospitals to see their doctors for post-appointment follow-ups or post-op treatment. In such circumstances, customized live voice and video conversations may significantly improve your client experience.

Live interaction through video call or conference is becoming increasingly popular among senior healthcare professionals, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 epidemic.

These live engagement alternatives can boost your customer satisfaction index in a variety of ways:

  • Patients like speaking with their doctor face to face. This promotes provider-patient trust, which leads to higher customer retention rates in the long term.
  • Patients may communicate with clinicians in real time, which was previously impossible during hospital visits.
  • Patients’ usual complaints, such as long-distance travel and the time required to get to hospitals, do not apply. As a result of such online consulting contracts, consumer loyalty rises.
  • Patients in post-op or recovery have a lot of questions that they feel pleased answering only by asking their physicians. Attending to patients and addressing live questions can result in much more joyful and pleased patients.

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How are new digital innovations changing the healthcare customer experience?

With the advancement of technology, the possibilities for healthcare consumer experiences are limitless. Healthcare providers may increase their loyal patient base by addressing their patients’ requirements with emerging technology and providing them with a more comfortable experience.

Here are some of the benefits of a better user experience:

  • Increase your customers’ lifetime value (LTV).
  • Increase client loyalty and retention rates.
  • Improve your reputation by improving your online reviews, recommendations, and word-of-mouth marketing.
  • Increase the customer pleasure index more than before.
  • Maintain your position as a best-in-class healthcare provider.

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Best practices for creating better customer experience

1. Collect data 

Collecting and securing data is essential for offering a simplified healthcare experience to your patients. Consumers do not want to have to seek down data or be concerned that their personal information has been exposed. Access to patient data, in turn, allows you to give the most accurate and useful treatment for their needs.

2. Personalize the patient experience

One of the reasons a patient chooses an independent practice is the ability to deliver a more personalized healthcare experience. The patient should understand that you value them as individuals and want them to have a positive experience at your clinic.

3. Clarity

Patients expect and deserve transparency in how you handle their treatment and the expenses associated with it. Patients may make educated decisions about their treatment if healthcare practitioners and patients communicate openly and honestly. It also fosters trust and respect between you and your consumer.

4. Utilize technology

A variety of technologies may be employed to improve your patients’ interactions with your office. Teladoc can save your clients time and money on brief visits that do not require a patient to be present in your clinic. Wearable technology may provide you with reliable data on your patients’ activities and other essential information, allowing you to give better treatment.

5. Integrate AI

Combining AI with wearable technologies can give your patients more influence over their care. Instead of visiting your clinic for routine tasks like blood pressure checks, your patient may utilize a wearable device and AI algorithm to identify whether there is cause for worry, a need to adjust medication dose, or another update to their treatment.

6. Produce favorable results

The result is the most important component in customer experience. In healthcare, a happy result might indicate a variety of things, but the objective is to provide treatment and, ultimately, recovery while keeping the patient as comfortable as possible.

7. Control patient expenses

Because healthcare is expensive, everything your practice can do to reduce patient expenditures while maintaining the quality of their care further strengthens your value offer. Furthermore, by saving your patients money, your clinic will provide a better customer experience.

8. Reduce practice expenses

Another strategy to deliver a better client experience is to eliminate wasteful expenditure in your practice. When you do not waste precious resources, you save money on technology and tools that will assist your patients.

9. Recognize your competitors

To establish a successful independent practice, you must understand who your competitors are and what services they provide to patients. Understanding their services, pricing, and patient results will assist you in organizing and presenting your own in a favorable light. This essential information may be obtained by working with a contract management provider.

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