Healthcare organizations are increasingly focusing on patient experience, and part of that push involves digitization and telehealth — something many had been hesitant to adopt. But when COVID-19 struck, it prompted massive shifts in the way healthcare operated. As a result, the industry is willing to embrace positive disruption driven by technological innovation.

Meeting patients’ changing expectations can certainly be challenging. It requires healthcare organizations to find solutions that are sustainable, secure, and smart for everyone involved. And those same organizations now need to implement those solutions in a hurry because people have become accustomed to digital healthcare and have no desire to go back to the old way of doing things. But how can they do this?

Collecting Information and Connecting From Anywhere

A great place to start is EHR integration with digital solutions. Technology is ubiquitous, and people use it to conduct any and all business. Healthcare providers have every reason to make it part of optimizing the patient experience — especially portions of the experience that have traditionally been conducted manually and in person but can be handled remotely.

Interlace Health’s Patient Intake solution lets health systems collect patient information more efficiently, with less waste, and in a way that is more convenient for everyone. It enables health systems to conduct the patient intake process ahead of the appointment digitally, which also helps ensure the safety of patients and staff in a time when everyone is trying to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Here are several more areas in which healthcare organizations benefit from a patient intake solution:

1. Virtual Pre-Appointment Intake
People want more control over their healthcare, and our Patient Intake solution lets them do that. It sends a link to required forms via text or email after someone schedules an appointment. In the following days and weeks, the system sends several follow-up reminders to ensure the forms are completed. On the day of the appointment, patients receive a text check-in option. This mobile approach to pre-appointment check-ins empowers patients by using technology most people are familiar with while ensuring providers get the intake information they need.

2. Payments
Missed and late payments create significant costs for healthcare organizations. Our Patient Intake solution integrates with our customers’ payment processors to provide some remedy for that. By collecting copays before patients are seen for nonemergency ambulatory appointments, providers see a decrease in missed and late payments. In fact, our customers have reported an average 4% drop in bad debt after embracing the pre-service collection capabilities our solution offers.

3. Insurance Information
With our intake solution, patients are prompted to enter their insurance data and send a photo of their insurance card. If any problems come up later or the information needs to be cross-checked, images of the insurance card can be instantly accessed. This alleviates some of the burden of manual entry, and shifting this responsibility — and the other intake tasks — from staff to technology can save about 45 minutes per appointment.

4. Telehealth
Perhaps the most exciting development to come from the past year is the rise of telemedicine. Interlace’s solution helps strengthen telehealth offerings by making the process as smooth as possible and ensuring that every part of the care experience, including registration and billing, can be conducted remotely with minimal problems.

Digital transformation in healthcare continues to come at a breakneck pace — and it’s being driven by patients and the realities of a global pandemic. Healthcare organizations that put the patient experience first and use proactive healthcare solutions will find themselves at the forefront of creating better healthcare for patients and part of the movement to create better healthcare for all.

To learn more about how texting and telehealth impact patient intake, download our recent webinar on the topic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Over the past five years, Lauren Ziegler has been a member of Interlace Health’s Marketing team, coordinating and executing marketing communication initiatives, such as copywriting and content management, public and media relations, social media, and corporate communications. She has over a decade of experience in working with technology companies. Lauren is passionate about helping the healthcare community understand Interlace’s Health’s value, vision, and commitment to improving experiences for providers, patients, and staff.