dministrative inefficiencies associated with arrival and registration are known causes of patient dissatisfaction. Patients must navigate private or public transportation and parking in a complex hospital campus, only to be confined to a cramped waiting room while they complete confusing and often duplicate administrative processes. This not only complicates patient care but also hinders both hospital and clinic operations leading to provider frustration and financial losses for providers and healthcare systems.
Digital registration tools can help streamline patient arrival and check-in while limiting exposure to clinic staff and other patients. Healthcare systems that invest in digital technology to support these workflows will realize operational and financial savings while empowering patients to take an active role in their care. Here’s good example of a care journey of a patient named Brian, depicting the scenario of how digitization transforms his care pathway to create a meaningful impact.
Brian is a 50-year-old diabetic patient. He often avoids visiting his endocrinologist for routine visits because he finds the process of navigating the hospital campus to his physician’s suite, waiting in line to check in, and filling out pre-visit forms to be cumbersome, confusing and time consuming. He feels like he spends more time completing pre-visit administrative tasks than he does with his physician. He is thrilled when he learns he can see his endocrinologist for regular checkups through a video visit / virtual consultation while completing the registration process entirely online. Here’s what Brian’s journey looks like.
Brian’s physician encourages him to sign up for the patient portal. He is surprised at how easy it is to use, and he can even download the app on his smartphone. Brian schedules a video visit online for a routine follow-up with his endocrinologist and promptly receives an email about what to expect during the visit.
The day before his appointment, Brian receives a text message with instructions to register for his visit. He updates his medication list in the patient portal.
Brian electronically signs all of his pre-visit forms and uploads a photo of his insurance card. He even pays his copay through his phone’s wallet app.
15 minutes before his video visit, Brian receives a text message reminder. He joins the visit through the patient portal.
Brian tells his physician he is experiencing blurred vision. Worried about potential diabetic retinopathy, his physician refers him to an ophthalmologist and connects him with the receptionist, who helps him schedule an in-person appointment for the next week.
Brian receives a text message reminder 2 days prior to his vision appointment and registers through the mobile patient portal app.
Brian’s information is saved from his previous visit, so he only needs to review his medication and personal information, sign the pre-visit forms and pay his copay.
On the day of his appointment, Brian receives a text message containing a wayfinding link that opens a map with driving instructions to the ophthalmology clinic. Using his phone’s GPS, geofence technology notifies the clinic of Brian’s arrival at the facility and sends a text message to welcome him and inform him that the exam room is ready.
Brian’s smartphone displays his location and an estimated walk time of five minutes. He follows step-by-step instructions on his smartphone from his car, through the medical office building, and to the clinic suite.
Once Brian arrives at the suite, all he needs to do is to provide his name to the receptionist before being immediately directed to a treatment room to visit with his physician, avoiding extended interaction with clinic staff and other patients.
By using digital registration, Brian’s visit is efficient, giving him more time with his physician to ask questions about his diagnosis and follow-up care. When he gets home, he logs into the patient portal to view his encounter summary.
SolvEdge works with organizations across the world to navigate the challenges of creating and implementing digital health strategies. We combine expertise in digital health solutions and patient access strategy to help systems heighten the patient experience. To learn how SolvEdge can help transform your organization, talk to our team.
