HEALTHCARE enrollment has long been stuck in an analog, paper-based system with obstacles at every step. While other industries have been adding digital processes for years, the healthcare industry has largely ignored it — until now.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced healthcare organisations to make digital adjustments seemingly overnight. But the reality is, the necessary changes have only just begun.
In September 2020, Director General of Health Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah revealed that they are creating an e-health initiative, “Lifetime Health Record for individuals” to provide accessibility to data and patient engagement.
To fulfill this initiative, it is crucial that the public and private health sectors work together to fully implement efficient electronic exchanges of patient records.
In order to meet patient and customer expectations, healthcare organisations need to completely reimagine outdated processes and the entire consumer journey.
With a few key principles and the right technology, the transformation process will be smooth, cost-effective, and more patient-friendly than ever.
Embrace the opportunity to simplify
When an organisation create forms and request information, it has to keep user experience design (UX) elements consistent and concise. Establish a vocabulary using common labels, names, and phrases to guide consumers through enrollment.
And remember, once a piece of information is asked to the customers, like their name, they shouldn’t have to fill that out again. Automatically populate new forms with existing patient data.
“Anything less than a seamless digital enrollment is a hassle and an excuse to abandon the process,” said Adobe head of healthcare industry strategy Tom Swanson.
“In some ways, then, digitisation is the bare minimum. A better experience comes through personalisation, optimisation, and consistency at each step,” he added.
Protect your teams from paper
Digital enrollment not only simplifies the process for consumers, but it also simplifies the process for the organisation and the people running it. Paper forms and documents require tedious, manual work on all sides.
Eliminating legacy forms, streamlining workflows, and employing automation and artificial intelligence (AI) not only boost customer satisfaction, but it also lets healthcare workers focus on the more important task at hand – caring for their patients.
“The new digital workflow has the potential to save representatives hours every day and save our company millions of dollars annually once fully implemented,” said Change Healthcare director of implementation services Marco Bland.
As customers and patients complete the digital enrollment process, it’s then easy to integrate their data with customer relationship management systems or data management platforms.
This allows organisations to provide a smooth and consistent experience across the entire journey as customers and patients move from enrollment into care, authorisation, payment, and more.
Meet consumers where it’s convenient for them
Consumers prefer convenience and simplicity rather than fuss and muss. With this in mind, examine every step of the customer journey and ask questions from the consumer’s perspective: Where will they engage? How will they engage? What challenges do they face? Which pieces of the journey can be simplified?
Then, craft a coherent experience with the following tactics:
- Use AI-powered design tools to create and update responsive forms across devices and platforms.
- Build a consistent library of design elements to increase familiarity and fluency.
- Design the experience to be as portable as possible, keeping transitions between devices in mind.
- Boost completion rates with progress indicators and micro-rewards.
- Create moments of personalisation with autofill or social media account integration.
- Find creative ways to deliver dynamic data so customers can solve their own problems.
Paper forms are risky business
A big misconception is that paper is secure. Superior in nearly every way to the stacks of paper and cabinets full of patient data, digital forms provide several ways to boost customer and patient confidence while simultaneously improving security and ensuring regulatory compliance.
With digital enrollment, you can do the following:
- Limit data access to authorised personnel on authorised devices and networks
- Easily update forms and securely meet evolving HIPPA requirements
- Give patients the ability to easily change and revise their information
- Expedite authorizations with e-signatures
- Increase accessibility for customers and patients
Digital is not new, just overdue in healthcare
New technology has wiped out the longest-standing hurdle — digitisation of existing paper forms and data. You can now use new utilities and AI to automate the process and ease the conversion of forms into dynamic, editable documents.
Telehealth and virtual care have proven viable and even more desirable for patients in a variety of circumstances. While this digital transition is new for healthcare organisations, consumers have long become accustomed to digital processes through other industries.
While the COVID-19 pandemic may have forced healthcare into digital experiences, the digital bandage has been ripped off. Patients and customers now expect digital experiences putting pressure on healthcare organisations to improve the entire customer journey — and it starts with digital enrollment. – Feb 8, 2021
