Unveiling the True Essence of Patient Engagement β Beyond the Buzzwords
-
April 02, 2024
-
Patient engagement refers to a patient's knowledge, skills, ability, and willingness to manage their own health and care, which is defined as “consumerism” in the healthcare industry. It draws on factors like self-efficacy, attitudes, health beliefs, motivation, coping skills, lifestyle behaviors, and social support. “The goal of patient engagement interventions is to increase patient activation and encourage positive patient behavior.”1
In many ways, digital health enables patient engagement. Digital health is intended to create a continuum of successful touchpoints using the technology available to users. The end result of digital health is to help turn the complexity of patient engagement into something more simple. But turning complexity into simplicity is often a difficult task. In this article, the authors highlight ways to simplify the patient care experience, the evaluation and implementation of new technologies, how to balance cost efficiency and innovation, and the benefits of customer experience mapping.
Ways To Turn Complexity Into Simplicity
Press Ganey, which specializes in patient experience solutions, recognizes the importance of simplifying the patient’s care experience. “The company advocates for adopting the Human Effort Score as part of a comprehensive and continuous listening strategy. This score measures the ease of service interactions, allowing healthcare organizations to improve patient satisfaction and loyalty.”2 A human-centric approach stresses the importance of keeping process and technology decisions focused on how a person or patient experiences their healthcare situation.
Continuous listening is a powerful practice that involves capturing feedback from patients and employees through various channels such as digital surveys, QR codes, social listening and focus groups.3 These valuable insights help identify areas of high effort for patients, address their concerns and enhance the overall patient experience.
Healthcare systems can further strengthen their operations by embracing crowdsourcing. By tapping into the ideas and experiences of employees, healthcare organizations can gather innovative solutions to workplace challenges, break down hierarchical barriers and foster collaboration. Crowdsourcing initiatives empower and motivate employees to contribute their unique perspectives, generating a diverse pool of ideas and promoting a sense of ownership within the workforce.
By combining continuous listening and crowdsourcing, healthcare organizations establish a dynamic, feedback-driven ecosystem that adapts to the changing needs of patients and employees. This proactive and collaborative approach facilitates prompt problem resolution and cultivates a culture of continuous improvement, innovation and excellence.4
Digital feedback plays a crucial role in understanding the patient’s experience. Healthcare organizations can embed feedback forms in their websites and apps to gather real-time data on user interactions. This information helps identify areas that need improvement to ensure a seamless user experience. Ideally, focusing on embedding feedback loops into the process will provide a continuous improvement opportunity. Innovation departments or patient experience groups can leverage these findings to improve and personalize the “journey.”
The Industry Is Evolving – Know Where You Stand
The HCAHPS Survey (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) comprises 29 items covering critical aspects of the healthcare organization experience and provides a standardized measurement approach to compare across healthcare organizations.5 In addition to producing comparable data, the survey aims to create incentives for quality improvement and to enhance public accountability in healthcare.6 HCAHPS scores are often the litmus test of a strong experience. Patient experience focus groups are leveraged to go directly to the customer to see how these scores can be improved.
Digital health investment skyrocketed from $8.2 billion in 2019 to $29.1 billion in 2021; the number of deals increased from 411 to 729. Many point solutions target similar markets and/or applications; infrastructure and interoperability investments are also being made.7
In the rapidly advancing healthcare industry, healthcare organizations — and particularly the chief information officer (“CIO”) of the organization — face myriad challenges. Alongside the HCAHPS measurements of patient experience and treatment quality, healthcare organizations must address technology debt (the backlog of outdated or inadequate technology systems and infrastructure) and carefully evaluate new health technologies.8
Several factors come into play in the evaluation and implementation of new technologies. First, patient experience must be taken into account to ensure the technologies enhance the overall care journey. Additionally, artificial intelligence (“AI”) and telehealth technologies should be considered to determine how they can improve patient outcomes and accessibility. Furthermore, scalability of existing systems, data protection and security will help ensure the seamless integration and protection of healthcare information. By strategically prioritizing projects and incorporating innovative trends, healthcare organizations can optimize operations, enhance patient access, and remain competitive in the ever-evolving healthcare landscape.
Balancing Cost Efficiencies and Innovation
To achieve cost savings and optimize operations, healthcare organizations may consider application rationalization or a modernization approach. Legacy technologies often require significant maintenance costs and may impede overall efficiency.9 By prioritizing projects and aligning them with innovative trends, organizations can create a roadmap that incorporates frictionless patient access, self-controls, login-less technology, automation, virtual healthcare and other emerging advancements. This approach allows healthcare organizations to stay competitive in the evolving marketplace while providing efficient, high-quality care.
In a recent study on expected digital health churn by Panda Health, five out of the eleven digital health solutions in which the purchase was highly influenced by the pandemic are now facing a likelihood of churn. Healthcare organization leader respondents reported varying levels of satisfaction and upcoming contract expiration dates, predicting rationalization or “rip and replace” activity in the next 12 to 24 months.10
Source: Nadeau, R. “The Great Shakeup.” Panda Health, 13 June 2023
Key Areas of Focus for the Healthcare Industry
The relationship between cost and quality in healthcare is complex, subject to variation and conflicting findings across research studies, with some suggesting a negative correlation between cost and quality in the Medicare population while others report positive associations or no relationship at all. This complexity poses a challenge for healthcare organizations who strive to deliver high-quality care while simultaneously controlling costs. In this pursuit, healthcare organizations may find themselves making trade-offs between cost, quality, and revenue.
Considering these challenges, the operational summary of the healthcare industry highlights several key areas of focus. These include portfolio optimization, enhancing the patient experience, exploring new business models, adapting to technology disruptions such as telehealth, welcoming consumerism in healthcare and utilizing healthcare data to improve outcomes and reduce costs.
Many healthcare organization leaders are embracing the Quintuple Aim, a comprehensive framework that aims to achieve multiple goals in healthcare: improve patient experience, enhance population health, reduce per capita healthcare costs, promote health equity and support healthcare workforce well-being. 11 The inclusion of health equity and healthcare workforce well-being recognizes the importance of addressing disparities in healthcare access and supporting the individuals who provide vital care to patients.
Healthcare organizations adopting the Quintuple Aim are directing their attention towards strategic initiatives that address these interconnected goals. Health information technology leaders are witnessing a shift in priorities, with a greater emphasis on these types of initiatives. Moreover, healthcare organizations are actively developing mitigation plans to address technical debt, ensuring a solid foundation for the implementation of the Quintuple Aim initiatives. This comprehensive approach can transform healthcare organizations and result in improved patient outcomes, reduced healthcare costs, equitable care delivery and enhanced well-being for healthcare workers.
Patient experience also influences reimbursement models and financial incentives. Value-based payment models consider patient satisfaction and quality of care, rewarding healthcare organizations that prioritize patient experience. By focusing on patient satisfaction, organizations can improve their financial performance and secure higher reimbursements. By prioritizing patient experience, healthcare organizations can achieve both clinical and financial benefits. Positive patient experiences foster loyalty and retention, leading to increased utilization of services and recommendations to others. This, in turn, attracts new patients and boosts market share.
Customer Experience Mapping Across Industries
Patient journey maps, similar to customer experience mapping in other industries, serve as valuable tools for understanding and improving the experiences of individuals within the healthcare system.12 Below we explore how other industries utilize customer experience mapping to enhance their services, and we apply those principles to healthcare.
Customer Experience Mapping Across the Hospitality Industry
A luxury hotel might map out the entire guest journey, starting from the moment of booking to check-out. By identifying touchpoints like the reservation process, arrival at the hotel, room service and departure experience, the hotel can personalize the guest experience, address pain points and exceed expectations.
Healthcare organizations can map the patient journey from pre-appointment to post-treatment. By identifying touchpoints such as appointment scheduling, reception, waiting times, consultations and follow-up care, organizations can tailor the experience to meet individual needs. For instance, they can implement online appointment systems, provide clear instructions and information, offer comfortable waiting areas and ensure seamless coordination among the patient’s care team.
Customer Experience Mapping Across the Retail Industry
Retailers use customer experience mapping to comprehend the entire consumer journey, from product browsing to final purchase. This analysis of touchpoints enables them to identify shortcomings, optimize store layouts, train staff for exceptional service, and integrate technology to enrich the overall experience. Healthcare can apply a similar approach by mapping the patient journey, encompassing interactions with clinicians, nurses, support staff and pharmacists. By scrutinizing touchpoints such as appointment scheduling, check-ins, care delivery, medication management and discharge instructions, healthcare organizations can pinpoint areas needing improvement. Implementing technology for patient education, optimizing communication channels and ensuring seamless transitions between healthcare settings are potential steps.
Customer Experience Mapping Across the Airline Industry
Drawing inspiration from the airline industry's focus on a seamless and enjoyable journey, healthcare organizations can prioritize user-friendly appointment systems, compassionate and responsive staff, well-equipped facilities and clear post-discharge instructions. By identifying pain points through patient journey mapping, healthcare organizations can affect essential improvements, ultimately elevating the overall patient experience.
Healthcare organizations can create a more patient-centered approach by incorporating strategies and best practices from industries that prioritize customer experience mapping. By understanding and improving touchpoints, and streamlining processes and personalizing care, organizations can deliver high-quality services, gain patient loyalty and maintain a competitive advantage in the market.13 They must be singularly focused on patients when creating new pathways to better their experience.
Footnotes:
1: Michelle Ronan Noteboom, “What does ‘patient engagement’ really mean?”, Healthcare IT News, 1 May 2015
2: “Continuous listening.” Press Ganey, (n.d.)
3: Ibid.
4: Ibid.
5: “Home.” HCAHPS, (n.d.)
6: Ibid.
7: Krasniansky, Adriana, Evans, Bill, and Zweig, Megan. “2021 year-end digital health funding: Seismic shifts beneath the surface.” Rock Health, 10 January 2022
8: “Overcoming tech debt in Healthcare.” Formstack Blog, (n.d.)
9: Nadeau, R. “The Great Shakeup.” Panda Health, 13 June 2023
10: Ibid.
11: Burns, L. R., and Pauly, M. V. “Transformation of the health care industry: Curb your enthusiasm?” The Milbank quarterly, 5 March 2018,
12: Nundy S, Cooper LA, Mate KS. “The Quintuple Aim for Health Care Improvement: A New Imperative to Advance Health Equity.” Institute for Healthcare Improvement, (n.d.)
12: Sol, Josh. “The Future of Care Delivery.” FTI Consulting, 28 September 2022
13: Compton-Phillips, A. “5 lessons from HX23: Top executives share key strategies to transform healthcare in 2023.” HX23, 21 May 2023
Published
April 02, 2024
Key Contacts
Managing Director