Utilizing data analytics can help to optimize processes in the healthcare industry such as patient appointment scheduling, follow-ups after patient visits, payment collections, and more. Advanced data analytics can help to improve each step of patient interactions to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system and increase both patient and staff satisfaction.
Patient Visits
EMR systems have complicated navigation and an overwhelming amount of information which means providers often have to focus more on the system than the patient. Data analytics can help improve patient care and experience in the following ways:
- It can help provider more quickly and easily understand the patient information in EMRs.
- It can make a large amount of information concise by drawing relevant metrics from it. One example is risk scores which estimate the chances of patients having future complications from different conditions.
- Natural language processing technology can help providers gain information from large amounts of patient data. This helps them to understand the conditions of patients and their risks. During patient visits, it also helps them to concentrate on the biggest priorities.
Optimize Appointment Scheduling
Through data analysis, scheduling appointments with patients can be optimized, which increases patient satisfaction and efficiency for medical staff. Medical organizations already have much of the data needed for scheduling analysis, which includes information such as patient treatment data, demographics, and finances. Here are some of the things data analysis for appointment scheduling allows you to do:
- Pinpoint which medial staff would be the best for patients to visit.
- Identify the best times for patients to visit.
- Identify routes for patient care and prioritize appointments based on patient care needs.
- To help patients that have mobility or transportation issues, ride services or virtual visits can be recommended.
Follow-Ups After Patient Visits
With advanced analytics capabilities, medical staff can improve the follow-up process after patient visits. Providers can see a more complete picture of the medical care history that a patient has received and what the next steps for a patient should be. This information helps create patient care plans that are more detailed, complete, and accurate. Advanced analytics also improves communication between providers and helps them to know whether there has been follow up in areas such as filling prescriptions.
Patient Outreach
The development of new patient outreach technologies helps to optimize communication with patients and increases patient engagement. Here are some examples:
- By using more communication channels such as texting, patients can be reached more quickly and easily.
- Patient groups that are high-risk can be segmented and contacted more urgently to get the care they need.
- The use of more communication channels can make it easier for patients to receive resources about health which can help them to learn about health topics and be more informed about their healthcare.
In addition, patient outreach through various channels helps providers ensure health goals are met.
Collecting Payments
Both patients and the providers in the medical field can benefit from decision-making that is data-driven. One area that can be improved by this is the billing and payment collection system which can be made more efficient, leading to fewer errors and delays. Here are some ways that using data-driven technology can help:
- Providers can catch irregularities in payments, coding, and billing before patients are negatively impacted by these factors.
- Claims can be accelerated which means that providers are paid sooner.
- Patient satisfaction is increased by the more accurate and efficient payment process.
To get the most benefit from using data analysis for the payment collections process, the payment collections workflow and patient journey must be assessed carefully to improve patient care and experience.
CH Consulting Group has experience helping healthcare organizations better utilize data to make measurable improvements in contact center efficiency, patient experience and staff satisfaction. Contact us today to learn more about how together we can help improve the patient experience.
