In the last 20 years, patient relationship management (PRM) technology has increasingly played a role in growing healthcare businesses. Healthcare PRM provides a simple automated solution to improve patient communication, save staff time, decrease no-shows and increase revenue.
As a business owner or patient relationship manager, having a successfully implemented PMR system may be the best solution to create a better experience for patients and ultimately grow your business. We invite you to follow along as we discuss noticeable signs that indicate you have a sub-par PRM system.
The Patient does not feel a part of their treatment
The relationship between physician-patient is essential due to the impact on patient care outcomes, patient compliance with treatment, and overall patient satisfaction. Suppose a patient sees a different specialist, nurse, or service care provider every time they visit; they are unlikely to have built a relationship with each. A lack of established communication and relationship between the service provider and patient results; in patients who are less likely to feel comfortable and relaxed or think that they are receiving the correct treatment.
Multiple different healthcare providers are unable to provide routine checks and keep track of changes in treatments for one patient, which impact the patients’ willingness to follow through with prescribed care or treatment.
The implementation of PRM allows your business to automatically notice and track the patients’ preferred specialists and communication channels. This allows the patients to receive an enhanced quality of care as you can provide personalized and timely follow-ups. This will help patient outcomes as patients take a more active role in their care.
Noticeable Decrease in Patient Retention
Patients will not return to healthcare providers if they feel they have not received their care. Patient satisfaction is dependent on feeling engaged and acknowledged and having continued care (through emails, calls, etc.)
Patient relationship management can help your business efficiently identify and bridge any gaps present in the care journey with actionable insights. These insights can help your business create informed outreach initiatives that leave your patients cared for.
Increased patient retention guarantees a steady cash flow and provides your healthcare RPM system with the ability to be improved continuity, contributing to positive patient care outcomes.
Patients Are Spending Up to Two Hours on The Phone
When making appointments, discussing treatment, or communicating with patients, staff can spend up to 2 hours on the phone. This forces you to hire more staff to cover jobs that would be done if your current employees were not spending long periods on tasks. Patients are left frustrated with the lack of efficient patient communication.
PRM technology automats patient communications while keeping the interactions with your business personalized, targeted, and customized. There are options to implement online scheduling and two-way communications, which add more convenience and access for the patient without staff getting additional work. The automation of patient communication has drastically decreased patient time spent on the phone to under an hour.
Patient Data Is Not Available When Needed
The ability to effectively treat and care for patients as a healthcare provider decreases if patient files containing illness, specifications, conditions, and history are not recorded or available when needed.
When a business expands rapidly or does not have the necessary structure and organization, it is very easy for patient files to get lost in the system or for information about the patient’s treatment to be lost. This negatively impacts patient experience as it can lead to an incorrect diagnosis, longer wait times, and departments within your business cannot efficiently and effectively share patient information.
PRM systems equip businesses with easy and sharable access to reoccurring patient files, resulting in better communication and treatment, decreased waiting times, and improved patient experience.
High Incidence of Patient No-Shows
Patients do not arrive at appointments as they are expected to see the next available specialist or nurse; they get told the next available appointment, which is their only choice. The client is no longer accepting this attitude to patient care.
Patient no-shows have a detrimental impact on business revenue and growth, as the number of patients treated or arriving for consults directly influences income. If patient satisfaction is low and the client feels they do not have a say in who they receive care from, they are less likely to come.
PRM systems allow patients to continue to have a personal relationship with their chosen healthcare providers. PRM system technology caters to the patient’s choice of specialist and what day and time they would like to schedule their appointment. Reminders and confirmation of appointments via email or texts can also be implemented to decrease no-shows.
Your Business Does Not Prioritize Marketing
If you are relying on verbal customer feedback through face-to-face support calls to identify the shortfalls in your healthcare business, you are missing out on valuable insights.
Online marketing allows you to grow and advertise your business reputation, identify your loyal customer and receive feedback from them. This can be done through advertising services provided, new technologies, introducing clients to any business structure changes, and new staff members.
Having an online presence through social media, email, or messaging can increase patient engagement, trust, and loyalty. Marketing is a proven resource that can improve business revenue through customer retention or new customers.
Decreased Revenue Is Impacting Financial Resources
In healthcare businesses, finances are directly linked to patient satisfaction. Your business revenue is impacted negatively; if money is spent on unnecessary staff hires due to a chaotic internal organization (poor management system), low patient retention, and high incidence of patient no-shows.
A PRM system can reduce no-shows, implement waitlist messages to fill appointments if cancellations occur, or have online, email, or SMS options for rescheduling. All these factors directly affect your business’s ability to generate income.
Conclusion
Healthcare businesses that had sub-par patient relationship management experience over a 10 percent patient no-show rate, and staff were spending over two hours on the phone with patients. Sub-par PRM also negatively impacted patient treatment and recovery as no sufficient recall program exists.
PRM technology systems have improved; provider-patient trust drastically, patient involvement in their care, mutual understanding, and patient satisfaction, thus ultimately improving your business bottom line.
