A report from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and patient payment and engagement solutions company Cedar has identified six technologies that have “profound impacts on both patient engagement and practice workflows.”
The technologies outlined were patient portals, automated appointment reminder systems, check-in technologies, telehealth, digital payment options and data analytics.
According to the researchers, “This report comes at a point when increased patient consumerism encourages healthcare practices to enhance technological capabilities. Patients are engaged in their own care through mobile and online technology more than ever, yet an engaged digital consumer remains a top 10 challenge for healthcare executives. Providers can build closer relationships with patients when interactions such as portal messaging are utilized or filling out forms is digitized, freeing up more time for effective patient care. The report also points out that rising costs of healthcare, especially administrative costs, can also be mitigated with the use of appropriate technology.” Indeed, healthcare’s consumerism shift was also named as a Top 10 Tech Trend by Healthcare Innovation earlier this year.
“In order to truly prioritize the patient, delivering a more consumer-friendly experience must extend across the entire patient journey — from checking in for an appointment to the clinical encounter to bill payment. This personalization starts with data and technology,” said Florian Otto, M.D., co-founder and CEO of Cedar. “We collaborated on this report with MGMA to help guide hospitals, health systems and medical groups on ways they can enhance practice operations and the patient journey overall.”
Regarding the six technologies outlined, 70 percent of healthcare leaders plan to adopt these technologies in 2019 to make their practices more efficient. Supporting data found in recent MGMA Stat poll revealed that practice leaders can expedite technological improvements through five steps:
- Examine current environment to uncover opportunities for automation.
- Review existing technologies to determine how they address patient engagement challenges.
- Uncover best practices and learnings from peers.
- Identify the top three “easy wins” to pursue to achieve greater patient engagement through technology.
- Start the conversation among stakeholders and initiate change in a practice.
“In today’s healthcare environment where practice workflow and patient experience are paramount, the use of technology is more instrumental than ever in helping providers enhance operations and overall patient care,” noted Halee Fischer-Wright, M.D., , president and CEO at MGMA. “Building a data platform utilizing technologies like patient portals, automated appointment reminder systems and digital payment options helps practices improve patient engagement and allows providers to focus on what they do best—care for people.”
