Digital transformation is a buzzword in many industries—including healthcare. When you ask leaders how to best leverage technology in healthcare, you’ll get many different answers. Before you invest in overhauling your digital strategy, your ASC needs to set goals and gain a clear understanding of how technology directly benefits your patients.
Increased communication = increased satisfaction
At its most basic level, patient satisfaction comes down to whether or not patients feel cared for. Multiple factors come into play, from the bedside manner of the post-op nurse to how long patients have to wait before surgery. But when patients know what to expect, their level of engagement and satisfaction significantly increases.
Better communication means accounting for all personality types—which means that you need to use multiple methods of communication, such as email, text, phone, and even video messages. A robust communication platform also means you can communicate with patients early about new waiting room protocols, pre-op instructions, and what to expect on the day of their surgery. The earlier and the more detailed the communication, the better a patient’s experience will be.
Leverage online pre-admissions
With the right software, you can offer a virtual pre-admissions process. Patients can fill out their health history forms on their computer or smart device, completely bypassing the need for an in-person pre-admissions appointment. What’s more, this data gets directly integrated into the patient’s medical record, reducing the risk that any information gets lost in translation. Patients appreciate how online pre-admissions save time—when their appointment time comes, they don’t have to sit in your waiting room, filling out their health history paperwork.
What do your patients want?
A digital communication platform allows your ASC to solicit feedback directly from your patients. From the comfort of their own homes, patients can complete satisfaction surveys and provide direct feedback regarding their experience. These surveys can offer critical insight into how well your ASC is functioning—but they are useless if patients don’t ever fill them out. Technology allows you to send patients automated reminders via multiple communication methods, such as text, email, or video message, so no survey gets left behind. And of course, once you have collected survey data, you must be willing to integrate what patients tell you into making changes.
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