Whether you’re a large medical practice or a smaller veterinary office, adhering to the latest trends in healthcare could be the difference between a healthy patient list — or an empty waiting room.
As patients use technology to assist them in their health challenges, they also expect medical practitioners to also use technology to provide them with the highest level of care. Position your practice to change with the times by taking advantage of the latest tools to increase patient satisfaction and help you to provide the best care.
Read on for three trends that can keep you ahead of the game.
Rally call for wearables
Six patients are anxiously sitting in the living room. Your receptionist is out sick. You’re working on next week’s staff schedule and payroll is just around the corner.
You’re busy. And the more you can do to enable patients to take care into their own hands not only frees up your time — but gives them peace of mind.
In fact, more than 80% of consumers are open to wearing fitness technologies, such as Fitbit and other smart devices. That openness to wellness-enhancing digital tools is making an impact on connected healthcare. Sophisticated, wearable smart devices are increasingly used in clinical settings.
And wearables can save you that time you’ve been looking for. BI Intelligence estimates doctors with patients using wearable technology can save up to 15 hours per week.
Here are three tips to help transform your organization in light of evolving patient priorities and expectations.
- Focus on the patient. Prioritize investments in devices and digital tools that improve patient experiences and reduce operational costs.
- Improve employee scheduling. Keep your office filled with the right staff who can personalize your patient’s experience.
- Improve the web experience. Make sure your website is mobile-optimized and easily searchable so your patience can find the information they need on any device.
Making care convenient
When a parent of two is trying to get their kids to two different schools, wrap up a report for work, and meet the maintenance person coming to fix the broken window, trying to schedule a medical visit seems impossible.
Reliant Healthcare knows how important convenient care is. That’s why they use smart scheduling to manage their staff. “Two days are never the same at Reliant,” says Alexandra Conroy, Director and co-founder of Reliant Healthcare. “We pride ourselves on being accessible, so when a client requests urgent help, we can respond without delay.”
And many organizations are looking to incorporate telehealth into their business. And even if telehealth isn’t feasible for your organization, you still can provide convenient care to all your constituents. Here are three ways you can improve experiences for your patients.
- Make scheduling a breeze. For your staff, make sure you have an advanced scheduling system to ensure you have the right staff at the right now. And for patients, use streamlined tools to make payment processing or appointment scheduling easy.
- Improve your website experience. Chatbots can be used to give patients interactive care on your website to make sure they get the care they need when they need it.
- Use multi-channel outreach. Blogs, social media, and podcasts aren’t just for entertainment. Use these platforms to educate your patients learn about whatever they need.
Investing in AI
In healthcare, no two days are the same. And while healthcare seemingly is always on the cutting edge of trends, some of its core technologies aren’t.
But successful organizations are using automated systems to help clinicians with complex workflows. Or they’re using AI-driven chatbots that provide employees with critical, contextually relevant information. Ranking four classifications of immersive and intelligent technologies by their importance, 41% of healthcare executives rank artificial intelligence as number one.
Here are four ways you can begin transforming your core technologies and preparing your teams for tomorrow’s healthcare environment:
- Plot your digital transformation. Sunset legacy technologies, adopt a cloud strategy, and embedding intelligence in existing digital workflows.
- Train your employees. Create programs that train employees on the programs and skills they’ll need for your post-digital future.
- Buddy up. Identify partnerships and key technologies that will enable you to stay ahead of the competition
Be a trendsetter
The face of modern healthcare continues to evolve. Position your practice to change with the times by taking advantage of the latest tools to increase patient satisfaction and help you to provide the best care. Download The Millennialization of Healthcare to learn the latest trends impacting shift workers in the healthcare industry.
