In the age of worker shortages, healthcare organizations are consistently relying on Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) optimization, especially with an influx in demand. Of the solutions out there, they are doing the best with what they have, but there’s only so much they can do when external factors can get in the way, like missed appointments, skipped annual check-ups and patients forgetting to take medication, which require follow-up.
So what can healthcare organizations do to solve this problem? Here’s what we’ve found works well.
Focus on What Matters
There are two important areas to focus on as a healthcare organization: the health of the patients and the well-being of employees. Of course, caring for patients and helping them feel their best is the number one priority of any health system or center, but healthcare organizations tend to forget that the only way patients can get better is through their own employees. While artificial intelligence may assist with some work, an overworked doctor or nurse can lead to burnout, which can lead to leaving their job (or even healthcare overall) or unfortunately, cause medical errors.
To fix this, create an environment that current and prospective healthcare workers want to be a part of. Offer competitive benefits with more time off, bonus options, flexible work schedules and daycare options. Create a work environment that’s uplifting and inviting with regular staff appreciation meals and gift cards, staff get-togethers around holidays, or for fun, and mental health resources whenever staff need them.
When patients see how well employees are treated, they are more likely to come back, they’re confident in their care, but also in the positive environment. Employees stay happy and fulfilled in the work they do each day, which reduces hiring expenses and exudes the type of environment any healthcare organization would be lucky to have.
Automate Tasks Whenever Possible
It’s 2023 and plenty of work functions can be automated. In any industry, there are a few reasons why anyone should have to manually call a customer when it can be done through IVR and appointments scheduled automatically.
In healthcare, doctors, nurses and other highly-skilled staff are being pulled away to do tasks just like this when instead, they could be focused on caring for their patients. Some of these tasks may take a little bit of time or hours for others. The waste adds up quickly and results in fewer patients getting through the door.
Use artificial intelligence and technology to do the work for you with various patient touchpoints. Allow patients to self-schedule appointments, create workflows that automatically send messages and calls at patient-preferred times and formats and optimize appointment reminders to reduce no-shows.
Automating as much as possible will ease these burdens tremendously and improve the bottom line for increasing revenue, but most importantly, improving health outcomes.
Consider Hyper-Personalization Using Psychographic Segmentation
It’s difficult, at best, to convince all patients to make their health a priority, but psychographic segmentation can help. Patients are categorized into one of five segments based on their psychographic profile, which harnesses a patient’s attitudes, values and priorities to reframe the importance of getting care. The patient’s psychographic classifier results determine the content they get, how often, what format and more. Everything is personalized to fit their segment and if their preference changes slightly, the Upfront patient engagement platform makes note of it and adjusts engagement accordingly.
Considering the solution integrates seamlessly with EMR systems, it’s a great addition to encouraging patients to act on their health. Plus, it saves health organizations time and money because it’s taking the onus off of their staff to activate patient behaviors.
Interested in learning more about what it takes to enable an effective patient engagement system? Take a look at our whitepaper.
