by John Deutsch - Bridge Patient Portal
Digital technology can do wonders when it comes to streamlining the work of delivering efficient quality care to patients. The use of patient portals, EHRs, mhealth apps, and wearable tech can all empower patients to be more active in their healthcare, get faster treatment, and access preventative care earlier on. But with all the capabilities of modern technology, we find that many patients are slow to adopt digital tools. If this is the case for your healthcare organization, we recommend the following tips to increase adoption.
1. Accessibility and Ease-of-Use
This aspect of technology holds true for any industry, not just healthcare. If you want to see adoption, the tech—whether that be a device, mobile app, or other systems—must be immediately easy to use and understand. This can be addressed by specialist user experience (UX) designers, but in the field of healthcare, it is essential to consider how age, disease, and disability may be a factor—could the user be visually or auditorily impaired, for example, and design the relevant patient tools accordingly.
2. Fun User Experience that Shows Progress Toward Goals
Here’s something that the healthcare industry can learn from the broader ecosystem of apps and games. People engage with experiences that are fun and also reward progress in increments that incentivize the user to continue using the product. This can be done through engaging user interface (UI) elements, progress bars, and positive reinforcement toward health goals. This works best when broken down into smaller, achievable steps that encourage the patient to engage.
3. Multi-Channel Approach
The fewer ways there are to engage with your digital services, the greater the chance that the patient will have an issue and disengage. Instead, offer patients a range of options so that they can engage in the way that is best for them. Ideally, email, mobile app, website services, etc., should all be options on the table for patients to communicate with your practice.
4. Human Point of Contact (Tech Support + Onboarding)
Your patient-facing tech products may be simple enough to use, but patients may need that extra help to just get started, especially if they are older or unfamiliar with the technology used, having someone available in person to help them set it up and explain the basics can make all the difference. The same goes for ongoing tech support. Sooner or later, a patient may encounter an issue, and someone should be available to troubleshoot so that they do not give up on the technology altogether.
5. Connection to a Community
Social media has proven the power of technology to connect people over different interests, and patient-facing healthcare tech could see higher rates of adoption in some cases when patients are able to connect with others, e.g., a network of those with the same disease, or of caregivers. This can be a channel for sharing resources, tracking progress against group metrics, or simply talking with others to find support through the difficulty of going through a particular disease. The emotional support and encouragement of one’s peers can be a great help through one’s healthcare journey.
About the Author
John Deutsch
John is CEO of Bridge Patient Portal with 20 years of healthcare IT business ownership experience specializing in patient engagement, marketing, and software development.
Check out Bridge's recent webinar with FQHC Connect where they talked about Taking Patient Engagement to the Next Level with Telehealth, Mobile, & Other Patient Engagement Initiatives.
About Bridge Patient Portal
Bridge is an enterprise patient portal and patient engagement solution for healthcare organizations. The platform is ideal for health centers seeking to replace their existing EHR’s patient portal, connect disparate EHR environments, consolidate costly patient engagement tools, offer telemedicine services, and/or publish a mobile app.
Bridge is a community sponsor of FQHC Connect and has a number of FQHCs using their platform. They are constantly seeking to improve their technology and collaborate with FQHCs to find new and creative ways to advance patient engagement in FQHCs.
Learn more at www.bridgepatientportal.com.
