11 tips to keep patients engaged between visits

If your connection with patients ends the moment they step out of the exam room, you're leaving care gaps — and revenue — on the table. Health care has entered an age of consumer expectations shaped by Amazon Prime, ride-share apps and on-demand everything.

Patients now look for the same instant access and frequent feedback from their doctor's office that they get from their favorite retailers. Practices that meet those expectations see gains in medication adherence, visit retention and bill collection, according to Medical Economics.

There's also a hard financial edge. Patients who are engaged are quicker to pay balances and less likely to ghost on invoices. This is especially important in an era when high-deductible plans put most of the strain on the patient's wallet, not the payer's.

Similarly, value-based contracts reward patients that keep chronic-disease metrics under control, making patient participation a measurable revenue lever, rather than a marketing subtlety.

Regulators are watching, too. Starting this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Merit-based Incentive Payment System weighs "patient-reported outcomes" more heavily. Many private payers have followed suit with similar bonus structures. Staying in touch between visits — whether through a portal reminder, a texted blood-pressure alert or a simple check-in call — can top a quality score from average to bonus-eligible.

It's important to note that engagement efforts don't have to bust the budget. Most tactics rely on tools you already own — your electronic health record's (EHR's) messaging templates, inexpensive survey apps, a smartphone camera and five minutes of staff time.

The key? Match each approach to your specialty and patient mix, whether that means home spirometry for pulmonology or nutrition push notifications for endocrinology.