Guest Post by John Deutsch from Bridge Patient Portal, an FQHC Connect Community Sponsor.
Current trends in healthcare are prioritizing patient needs more than ever. Patients have indicated[¹] that they want healthcare companies to give them consumer-centric tools that offer the same freedom and convenience experienced in industries such as retail and modern banking. For example, 60%[²] of patients would like providers to use texts between appointments, and 76%[²] of patients want healthcare companies to provide an easy way to understand and pay medical bills.
Additionally, projections indicate that eventually, more than one in three[³] patient interactions will be digital, making the physician appointment no longer the automatic first touchpoint. 38%[¹] of patients would like to see healthcare companies provide a consolidated patient portal that includes all of the tools to meet their engagement needs. With significant changes in patient behavior and expectation, it has become more important to create a singular digital healthcare access point where patients can find everything they need across their care journey without having to remember multiple logins or download multiple apps.
The Digital Front Door: Addressing Patient Need
A healthcare digital front door is a comprehensive digital solution that consolidates patient engagement self-service tools in one place that patients can access via a single login. These key tools empower patients to engage with their healthcare in a proactive way at any moment in their healthcare journey. Ideally, the digital front door would have all of the self-service tools built into one app, but a digital front door could also just be an access point which then connects patients to other applications and apps. The experience of this “light” digital front door is, of course, not as good as having all the features built into the digital front door app but is certainly better than no app at all.
Features Of The Digital Front Door
So what should be included in a digital front door app?
Pre-Appointment
Through the digital front door, patients should have the ability to self-schedule and manage appointments, including telehealth options. Patients can also receive notifications about their in-person or virtual appointment. They can also review insurance eligibility and service estimates to make more informed decisions about the services they schedule.
Once it is time for the appointment, whether in-person or virtually, providers can offer patients a streamlined pre-appointment experience through a virtual waiting room. Here, patients can use patient intake technology to check-in, fill out screeners and other forms through a patient forms solution, and consume any information the provider recommends prior to the appointment.
Post-Appointment
Post-appointment, providers can use the digital front door to distribute patient satisfaction surveys, follow up with patients via secure messaging, and offer access to medical records and lab results, where 77%[²] of patients would like help with tracking lab results. Patients can also access tools to refill their prescriptions and conveniently pay their bills for greater control of all aspects of their healthcare.
Promote Collaboration
In addition to pre- and post-appointment benefits, the digital front door helps foster an ongoing collaborative relationship between providers, staff and patients. Features such as bidirectional patient messaging and remote patient monitoring allow patients to give providers ongoing real-time health information and communicate with them in between appointments. Patients can also access personalized patient education based on their condition and ongoing health concern. If a patient needs a referral, integrated patient referral software provides an efficient way to do so.
Overall, a digital front door is a cutting-edge solution that meets key patient engagement needs by consolidating many of the different software solutions in one easy-to-use, intuitive platform.
Bridge Patient Portal is an FQHC Connect Community Sponsor. Learn more about digital front door technology at www.bridgepatientportal.com.
References:
KLAS. (2020). Patient Perspectives on Patient Engagement Technology 2020 | KLAS Report. [online] klasresearch.com. Available at: https://klasresearch.com/report/patient-perspectives-on-patient-engagement-technology-2020/1670
West Corporation. (n.d.). 10 Ways to Fulfill Patients’ Communication Wish List. [online] West Corporation. Available at: https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/4941928/Marketing/Images/Infographic%20Sources/West-Patient%20Communication%20Wish%20List.pdf
Das, R. (2021). Frost & Sullivan’s Top 10 predictions for healthcare in 2021. [online] Healthcare IT News. Available at: https://www.healthcareitnews.com/blog/frost-sullivans-top-10-predictions-healthcare-2021
Accenture. How Can Leaders Make Recent Digital Health Gains Last? (2020). [online] Accenture. Available at: https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-130/Accenture-2020-Digital-Health-Consumer-Survey-US.pdf
