The amount and breadth of data traversing through a hospital or healthcare facility is staggering, yet this data is crucial to everyone including physicians, nurses, care managers, administration, billing, insurance providers, and the patients themselves. Further, the same data is critical for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance, government mandates, and population health initiatives.
While it sounds overwhelming, there are technologies that can profoundly simplify the processes and objectives of your healthcare facility. This article discusses three areas of technology that can assist with getting patients to sign-up for your portal, improving and automating your data workflow, and leveraging predictive analytics from the data to improve patient care while driving down costs.
Patient portals: onboarding using mobile technology
Getting people to sign up for a hospital or healthcare facility's patient portal is a challenge, but the information captured is invaluable throughout the patient's healthcare journey. Not only that, but patients who regularly use a patient portal are more likely to become loyal to that facility with a much lower chance of switching providers.
Today, healthcare providers are exploring a number of ways to get their patients to sign up for their portal, including posters in the lobby, registration desk personnel that inform patients of the portal, physicians themselves encouraging patients to sign up, and hard copy fliers that provide the URL to the portal along with sign up instructions. Most healthcare facilities have initiated a multi-touch approach by using some or all of the above tactics.
But is there an easier, more modern way to get patients to sign up and use your portal? Mobile technology might just be the missing link in getting more patients to sign up for your patient portal. Knowing that most patients carry their smart phone at all times, you can leverage mobile technology such as Quick Response (QR) codes and Near Field Communication (NFC) tags make the process easier, and even more fun.
As patients walk through the door of your facility, imagine a large poster or kiosk displaying a symbol that patients simply scan with their phones to visit your portal and register. Scanning this "QR code" instantly brings up a browser and navigates to your portal, where they can sign up, or log in, right from their device. QR codes can be generated for free and incorporated into existing signage, brochures, etc. In addition, several companies now offer a simplified way to utilize QR codes, NFC tags, and a layer to provide your portal sign-up through a mobile device.
Depending on the mobile device and operating system – Android, Apple, Microsoft – there are other methods for patients to interact with you using their mobile devices. Patients who use devices equipped with NFC have the luxury of simply scanning their phone against the NFC tag which will then bring up your portal on their phone.
"Our practice endeavors to implement a patient portal that ties into our current Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and we are researching creative ways to make that process simpler," said Leanne Mazeika, PNP-BC, Nurse Practitioner at Worcester Pediatrics, P.C. "Mobile technology is definitely a more modern approach to implement – who wouldn't love waving their smart phones on-site to instantly access their personal portal?"
Another key to ensuring a positive user experience when using the mobile channel is building or buying a portal tool that is designed responsively or adaptively. In either case, the content users view works well whether they're on a computer, table or phone automatically. A positive mobile experience has a huge impact on whether or not patients register for your portal and then continue using it.
Funnel patient data into your workflow
Once you have captured the patient's data through the portal, it is important that the data flow into your workflow automation system. Workflow automation allows you to automate your processes using software that performs it all for you, greatly reducing the chance for human error.
Workflow automation tools usually don't require any code, engineering, or IT resources. This allows you to rapidly build a customized workflow that mirrors your business processes and can be adapted as policies and procedures change. Automated alerts can be set up for abnormal test results, clinical assessments, a physician call-back, prescription refills, and other critical information. The captured information then flows into care plans, clinical visits, insurance coverage, billing, and any other area that utilizes information in the Electronic Health Record (EHR).
Analyze the data for compliance and clinical accuracy
EHR data collection is critical but on its own, it doesn't provide an enterprise-wide view of patient data in a meaningful way. Once you have the data captured via the patient portal and your workflow software in place, the third step in the data-driven process is to leverage analytics to examine the data for compliance and clinical accuracy, as well as for predicting clinical outcomes.
Several companies offer predictive analytics to post-acute providers, hospitals, payers and insurance organizations.
"While there is no silver bullet, the major benefit of predictive analytics is using your own data integrated with benchmark and best practice data to make expert operational and clinical decisions," said Richard Juknavorian, Vice President, Product Management at PointRight, a predictive analytics vendor. "Predictive analytics allows you to predict outcomes and improve overall quality of care while lowering costs."
Analytics can also provide reporting on patient health and demographic trends, financial planning, treatment options, internal productivity and much more, all with the goal of making healthcare facilities more proactive, efficient and able to provide better care.
Technology should help, not hinder
Like other industries – financial, retail, and enterprise, for example – healthcare is data driven.
Yet healthcare's data needs differ greatly from other industries and have unique requirements driven by compliance, government mandates, insurance regulations, and the complex journey of individualized patient care.
However, the latest technologies have the power to adapt to these unique needs and can help supercharge a healthcare facility's data demands, thereby greatly simplifying a complex eco-system.
Patty Brogdon writes for Integrify and previously worked in Technical/Training capacities at Picis Clinical Solutions where she trained nurses on using software for the OR, ER, and ICU and managed training and documentation at McKesson.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker's Hospital Review/Becker's Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.