Six technologies have profound impacts on patient engagement and practice workflow, according to a new reportThe report from Medical Group Management Association and Cedar found these technologies have helped improve the patient-physician relationship, mitigate rising costs and address the challenges of patient consumerism. Other added benefits include improved connectivity, streamlined accessibility, elimination of paper documents and financial gains from a simplified billing process.“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,” says Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, MMM. Take a look at the top six technologies below
1. Patient Portals
- Practices reported a wide range of patient portal adoption and functionalities.
- 40% say patients can request appointments, 11% say patients can make and request appointments and 3% say patients can make appointments.
2. Automated appointment reminder systems (ARS)
- 88% of organizations use ARS
- ARS has contributed to more rescheduled appointments instead of no-shows
3. Check-in technologies
- More practices allow patients to check in for appointments using online, kiosk and tablets.
- One practice found 75% of patients preregistered for their appointments online within six months. Patient forms were more complete and accurate than when filled out on pen and paper.
4. Telehealth
- As of February 2019, 29% of practices offer telehealth services and 17% plan to start offering.
- Telehealth has been well received in rural areas and emergency situations when physicians aren’t easily available or accessible.
5. Digital payment options
- Physician practices are estimated to lose up to two-thirds of revenue because of billing leakage.
- Multispecialty practices collect just more than half of accounts receivable within 30 days.
- 79% of consumers receive a paper medical bill, but only 21% want to make healthcare payments via check.
6. Data analytics
- Helps improve practice operations and solve problems, such as cancellations and unfilled appointments, for higher productivity and profitability.
- Includes everything from Excel spreadsheets to specially designed software. Data analytics capabilities likely already exist in your practice management software.
