Healthcare practices are always striving to keep their patients engaged.
After all, an engaged patient is one who will come back to the practice and recommend their friends and family. But keeping patients engaged can be an uphill battle. Patients look for new providers when their insurance changes or when they move, but patients can (and often do) choose another provider simply because they want a better experience. And today there are so many options to choose from.
Trying to keep patients engaged and loyal to one specific practice can be tough, and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) can really feel the strain of trying to build meaningful patient relationships. In addition to the struggles of a patient population who choose new providers because of the reasons mentioned above, ASCs will have fewer repeat patients by nature. While some patients may come back for subsequent procedures, they don’t go to an ACS for things like an annual well-visit or a check-up. Because of this, it’s important for ASCs to focus on nurturing patient relationships. And the best way to do that is through personalized communication.
For ASCs, personalized communication can build relationships by highlighting the benefits of choosing an ASC and helping to dispel any anxieties the patient may have. Most patients already know the cost-saving benefits of an ASC, and the idea of recovering at home instead of a long hospital stay is pretty appealing. They may also expect that an ACS will provide a more personal experience than a hospital. But choosing a smaller facility can also be a source of anxiety for patients. Will the level of care be the same? Will they be able to manage at home? What will the follow-up care be like?
Fortunately, with patient relationship management (PRM) software, it’s easy to calm those worries and show that patients will get a better experience. Automated communication through the practice’s software is simple to personalize for each individual patient. This especially comes in handy when the ASC is sending educational newsletters to their patients. Different procedures will require different preparation from patients and have different recovery information, so not every patient will benefit from the same information. This is where patient communication software makes things easy for the provider.
With PRM software, the practice can create a variety of drip campaigns and decide how often the newsletters should be sent, and which patients should receive them. When a new patient comes to the practice, the software places them in a group based on their prescribed treatment, and they receive the corresponding educational newsletters. With little time invested from the practice staff, they are able to provide patients with personalized communication that will answer many of their questions and alleviate some of their concerns.
This type of personalized communication provides a more positive patient experience, which contributes to better outcomes for patients, and as a result, the ASC. When patients feel connected with their provider and like they are more than just another source of revenue, they trust their doctor and are more likely to follow their prescribed treatment plan. This is a stark contrast to the ‘cookie cutter’ communication that many ASCs send—the same newsletter to every patient with general information. This type of communication can be useful, but the way it is sent will likely result in annoyed or frustrated patients who won’t even read it.
Sending educational content helps provide patients a better experience outside of the ASC, but using PRM software to reach patients helps the staff provide a better experience in the office too. Newsletters and other communications—like appointment reminders and pre-appointment instructions—can all be automated. This means that instead of a staff member spending hours of their day calling each patient to remind them of their appointment and any special pre-procedure instructions, they can spend that time interacting with the patients who are already in the office. After all, one of the main reasons patients choose ASCs over a hospital is because of the experience they expect. If they feel like that experience is sub-par, they’ll choose another practice.
It’s not enough that ASCs are generally a more affordable and convenient alternative to a hospital. Patients also want a positive patient experience that comes through a connection with their provider. The best way to provide this experience is to use the tools in patient communication software to offer personalized communication to each patient. Not only will the patient see better health outcomes, the practice will also benefit from the financial impacts of focusing on the patient experience.