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What is a Digital Front Door?

Tuesday, July 19th, 2022

Patient engagement is a growing concern in today’s healthcare ecosystem. As many providers transitioned to telehealth during the pandemic, the concept of a “digital front door” evolved to describe how patients interact digitally with healthcare providers.

digital front door

Definition

The term “digital front door” describes an omnichannel engagement strategy that leverages technology to meet the needs of modern healthcare consumers.

With many people using online searches and digital tools to find new care providers, the term describes how patients first interact with a healthcare provider online. It represents how the patient journey is changing in response to consumer needs.

Just a few years ago, the design of a medical office was considered extremely important to the patient’s experience. Focusing on the digital front door refers to creating a positive digital experience for patients navigating a healthcare provider’s website, patient portals, and other online touchpoints.

Why utilize a digital front door?

There are many reasons to optimize the digital experience. Changing consumer preferences, healthcare staffing issues, and potential cost savings are just a few reasons healthcare practices are turning to digital solutions.

According to a study from Cedar, 41% of patients reported that they would consider changing providers for a better digital experience. Younger adults are four times more likely to switch than those over 65. Making it easy for people to schedule appointments, check symptoms, and refill prescriptions online can increase patient satisfaction and retention.

In addition, the ongoing healthcare staffing shortage is making it difficult for staff to spend time engaging with patients. Implementing digital engagement tools can empower patients to take control of their healthcare tasks and relieve operational burdens on staff members.

The prevalence of electronic health records means that patients can access, read, and add to their records through a well-designed patient portal. Using online intake forms, email messaging, and surveys can streamline processes and save time and money for healthcare practices.

The Benefits of Digital Front Doors

Some of the key benefits of properly designed and implemented digital front doors include:

  • Reduced patient wait times
  • Ability to interact with the healthcare system outside of regular business hours
  • Improved access and visibility into patient’s health records
  • Less paperwork and administrative waste
  • Reduced administrative costs
  • Focus on providing quality care compared to administrative tasks
  • Improved coordination and transparency between care teams
  • Improved feedback collection processes

What types of technology are involved?

No one specific technology is required to create an effective digital front door. Instead, different technologies are combined to create a positive user experience that matches the patient journey and meets the organization’s needs. Some of the technologies typically involved include:

  • Chatbots
  • Online appointment scheduling
  • Physician finder tools
  • Online intake forms
  • Personalized and automated email communications
  • Secure texting
  • Patient portals
  • Automated surveys

Of course, it’s not just about the technology involved but how it works together to meet the patient’s needs. Implementing tools that are difficult to use, don’t integrate, and are frustrating to patients will not deliver results.

An Example

Let’s use an example to illustrate how patients interact with a digital front door. Josh just moved to the area and is looking for a new primary care provider that accepts his insurance and is close to where he lives. He does a Google search and finds a provider with good reviews located only 0.5 miles away.

Josh goes to their website and uses a physician finder tool to search through the provider’s network of physicians to find one who accepts his insurance and is taking new patients.

Once Josh finds someone who is a good fit, he signs up to be a new patient and fills out a digital intake form. On the website’s back end, the provider automatically captures and stores these details in a secure, HIPAA-compliant database.

Josh then schedules an appointment online. He receives an automatic confirmation email, and a few days before the appointment, he also receives an email reminder.

On the day of his appointment, Josh can immediately see his physician because he has already filled out the intake forms online. The physician takes notes electronically during the appointment and refills Josh’s prescription. All this information is automatically added to his medical records. Before leaving the doctor’s office, a staff member helps Josh schedule a follow-up appointment for a few months later.

The same day, Josh receives a text message that his prescription has been filled and is ready for pickup at his local pharmacy. A week after the appointment, Josh receives an email asking about his experience and whether he has any follow-up questions for the physician. Thanks to the thoughtful use of technology, Josh was highly satisfied with his experience.

Conclusion

In today’s world, a solid online presence is not optional. Creating thoughtful online user experiences is essential to improving patient and provider interactions.

Tags: appointment reminders, digital front door, digital transformation, healthcare consumerism, online forms, patient engagement, patient experience
Posted in Business Solutions, Telehealth
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Accelerating Digital Health Transformation

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of the health care industry. Telehealth and virtual care delivery rapidly took off out of necessity, but this shift has been coming for a long time. Changing consumer preferences and new technologies are leading healthcare systems to pursue digital transformation.

digital health transformation

What is Digital Health Transformation?

According to HIMSS, “Digital health connects and empowers people and populations to manage health and wellness, augmented by accessible and supportive provider teams working within flexible, integrated, interoperable and digitally enabled care environments that strategically leverage digital tools, technologies and services to transform care delivery.”

Digital health transformation involves using a variety of technologies to improve the patient’s journey throughout the healthcare system. Transformation often starts with the implementation of electronic health records, but it doesn’t stop there. A survey of health care technology executives conducted by Deloitte, found that 92% wanted to achieve better consumer satisfaction and engagement from digital transformation.

Other goals that organizations seek to address with digital transformation include:

  • improving patient satisfaction and engagement
  • improving patient health outcomes
  • ability to compete with disrupters and alternatives
  • increasing revenue growth
  • improving cost efficiency
  • increasing agility and scalability
  • improving employee satisfaction

Why Pursue Digital Transformation in Healthcare?

Consumer preferences are driving changes to the healthcare industry. Today, consumers can order goods online with same-day delivery. There is transparency throughout the order, shipping, and delivery process. People are used to having instant access to consumer goods, and are starting to expect the same experience from their healthcare providers.

The healthcare system is notoriously slow and inefficient. Patients are used to waiting weeks or months for appointments and often have difficulty navigating the healthcare system. Provider referrals, prescription refills, and accessing medical records and lab results can be confusing. Digital transformation allows health care organizations to incorporate technology to meet patient expectations and improve their experiences.

Generational attitudes are also changing the healthcare industry. Younger populations are more likely to switch healthcare providers if their communication preferences are not met. A 2019 study found that patients aged 18 to 24 are three times as likely (61%) to consider switching providers over a poor digital experience compared to the over-65 population (21%).

In addition, the healthcare industry is also dealing with staffing shortages. Many organizations are looking for technology that can automate processes and alleviate administrative burdens, allowing providers to spend more time on patient care.

How to Digitally Transform the Healthcare System

It goes without saying that digital transformation is a long process that requires a clear strategy. After the pandemic-induced changes, many healthcare organizations are now stepping back to define their budget and strategy. A Deloitte survey found that 52% of organizations surveyed still had more than three years remaining on their implementation strategy. An additional 20% were still in the planning stage.

Introducing new technology without a clear purpose or strategy should be avoided. A poorly executed transition can lead to clinician burnout, a poor patient experience, and negative business outcomes.

The possibilities for digital health transformation are endless. For some organizations, transformation could include incorporating technologies like:

  • telehealth
  • AI and clinical decision making
  • Big data and predictive healthcare
  • Virtual reality
  • Wearable medical devices that feed data to a patient’s health record
  • Blockchain data custody

The technology options are endless, but it’s important to focus on organizational goals. For example, putting healthcare records on the blockchain sounds trendy and cool, but it is a major project that requires, planning, IT support, and funding. If the organization’s goal is to improve the patient experience, moving patient data from an EHR to the blockchain may not meet that goal. Instead, organizations should create a list of priorities and explore how different technologies help solve those problems. Perhaps enhancing patient portal messaging would improve the patient experience more than a move to the blockchain.

Conclusion

Many healthcare organizations are pursuing digital health transformation to better serve their patients. When implementing any new technology, it’s important to thoroughly vet options. Switching technology vendors can be even more difficult than implementing a new solution. Make sure that any third-party vendor can implement the solution without sacrificing security and compliance.

Tags: digital health, digital transformation, Health Information Technology, patient engagement
Posted in Industry News, LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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Promoting Health Literacy with Email Engagement

Tuesday, March 29th, 2022

In the final installment of our series on using digital technology for patient engagement, we discuss how email can promote health literacy and help patients manage chronic conditions.

health literacy

Patient Education and Health Literacy

Chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease require a high degree of health literacy to manage effectively at home. Health literacy is the ability to understand, engage, and act upon health information. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic found that heart failure patients with lower levels of health literacy saw higher hospital admission and mortality rates. Therefore, boosting levels of health literacy for chronic disease patients is essential to improving health outcomes.

Of course, patient education and health literacy start with the in-person interactions a patient has with their health care provider. However, once a patient leaves the office, education should not stop. Using digital channels to reinforce medical messaging and can help keep patients up to date with developments in their treatment plans and prognosis.

Email is an excellent way to engage patients. It is minimally intrusive and asynchronous, meaning patients can read the material whenever it is convenient for them. Better yet, email messages can be personalized to meet the needs of individual patients with minimal time and effort.

Email Campaign Examples to Promote Health Literacy

To illustrate how email can improve health literacy, let’s take an example. A patient recently diagnosed with diabetes has a lot to learn about managing their health. Diabetes is a chronic condition that requires substantial lifestyle changes. Non-adherence to treatment can have serious consequences, including hospitalization and death. A patient is likely to meet with a health care provider on a regular basis to discuss their treatment plan, but the amount of information can be overwhelming. Sending follow up emails that reiterate important information can help patients understand and absorb the messaging received from their doctor.

Some potential campaign ideas include:

  • how to use insulin pumps
  • managing blood sugar
  • what to do if blood sugar is too low or too high
  • learning about A1C levels
  • information on preventing serious complications
  • information on nutrition and meal planning
  • exercise ideas
  • sharing information about diabetes support groups and events

Being diagnosed with a chronic health condition can have serious mental health impacts. Helping patients feel supported with resources and access to medical information throughout the lifestyle changes is very important.

Personalizing Email Campaigns

Here comes our regular reminder: sending emails that contain ePHI like those mentioned above, need to comply with HIPAA. Once HIPAA requirements are met, organizations can personalize emails with patient data. In addition to sending medical information, campaigns can be personalized further using demographic data.

Patients that suffer from chronic conditions and are members of ethnic minority groups often experience worse health outcomes than their white counterparts. To address health equity issues, use segmentation to target select groups with messaging specific to their needs. This could include creating campaigns in multiple languages, addressing diet and exercise tips in a culturally sensitive way, or providing more resources to help these groups afford testing and insulin.

The power of email personalization allows health care providers to provide accurate and timely information to their patients.

Conclusion

Learning to live with a chronic health condition is not an easy task. To help prevent hospital visits and deteriorating health, promoting health literacy is essential. Supplementing doctor visits with personalized email campaigns can help answer patient questions and help them adjust to living with a chronic illness. Contact LuxSci today if you would like to learn more about HIPAA-compliant email marketing campaigns.

Tags: email engagement, email marketing, health literacy, hipaa, patient education, patient engagement
Posted in Email Marketing, LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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Improve Access to Preventative Healthcare with Email

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022

Next up in our series on patient education and engagement, we look at ways to encourage preventative healthcare with digital technologies.

 

Vaccines and Flu Shot Information

It’s challenging to encourage individuals to get a yearly flu shot. There are many reasons that people do not get annual flu shots. Some of these reasons include:

  • not enough time
  • don’t think they need one
  • don’t know where or when to get one

Accordingly, one way to expand outreach efforts is with a series of personalized and educational emails. Using a patient database, it’s easy to identify the patients who are at the highest risk of suffering severe consequences from contracting the flu. Subsequently, the marketing team can put together a series of educational emails that address some of the common questions including:

  • why flu shots are important to public health
  • how to schedule a flu shot appointment
  • promotions to incentivize populations with lower vaccination rates

In addition, patient education can also help combat vaccine misinformation. The Covid-19 vaccine rollout represents a good example. The lack of compelling information from official sources led people to the Internet and social media to search for information about the vaccines. Despite local and national government efforts, the information void was filled by misinformation. Reaching out to patients before they encountered misinformation could have helped increase trust and increased vaccination rates.

Preventative Healthcare Screenings and Testings

Preventative healthcare screenings for cancer, blood pressure, and diabetes are recommended on a yearly basis. Identifying these conditions and treating them early on can drastically improve health outcomes. However, many people do not know when to get screened. Many tests do not apply until patients reach a certain age bracket or if they have certain risk factors. Email campaigns can target patients who meet the criteria for a preventative screening.

Next, let’s look at another example. Breast cancer screenings are recommended for women when they reach 40 years old. A healthcare marketer could create an email campaign to let eligible patients know how to schedule a mammogram. This campaign could provide educational information on why screenings are important, what patients can expect at their mammogram, and how to schedule an appointment. Promotional tactics can also encourage more signups. Early detection of cancer saves lives, and it’s incredibly important to conduct these screenings.

Appointment Scheduling

Furthermore, it is important that patients come in for annual appointments. These appointments are where many screening procedures occur. Skipping an annual appointment can mean missing the early symptoms of a serious health condition. Email campaigns can help close care gaps and encourage patients who have missed appointments to reschedule. Removing barriers to care and increasing the number of communication touch points can improve patient engagement.

The Power of Personalization in Preventative Healthcare

Finally, emails are even more powerful when they are personalized using ePHI. Marketers can use audience segmentation to break down patient populations into distinct groups and create relevant messaging. However, to segment and personalize email marketing messages with ePHI, the organization must use a HIPAA-compliant marketing solution. Read our other blogs for more information on selecting a HIPAA-compliant email marketing platform.

By targeting distinct patient groups, marketing teams can create highly relevant messages that increase patient engagement. Let’s take the earlier breast cancer screening campaign example. This campaign is particularly relevant to women in their 40s and 50s who may be unfamiliar with the screening process and how to schedule a mammogram. If this campaign was sent to an entire patient population, it would be confusing and annoying. Young women may mistakenly believe they needed to get screened, and men would be annoyed by the unnecessary email outreach.

Targeting the right population at the right time with the right message is key to marketing success. Using patient data in a safe way allows the marketing team to create highly personalized campaigns that help patients access preventative healthcare.

Conclusion

To conclude, educational email campaigns can encourage patients to access preventative care that they may not know is available. To achieve the best results, marketers can use segmentation and personalization to create highly targeted email campaigns to help patients achieve desired health outcomes. For more information on creating HIPAA-compliant email marketing campaigns, check out LuxSci’s Secure Marketing tool.

Tags: email marketing, email personalization, hipaa compliance, patient education, patient engagement, preventative healthcare, secure email
Posted in Email Marketing, LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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Engage Patients with Educational Messaging

Tuesday, March 15th, 2022

Educating patients about their upcoming medical procedures is an important part of building trust and increasing retention. Using digital technologies to educate patients is just one way to reinforce messaging and improve patient compliance. This article provides some examples of how to digitally engage with patients both before and after undergoing a medical procedure.

patient education

Read the rest of this post »

Tags: email marketing, email marketing HIPAA, ePHI, healthcare marketing, patient education, patient engagement, secure email, secure text
Posted in LuxSci Library: HIPAA
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