So you know you want a digital patient engagement platform – one that builds deeper patient relationships while retaining lifetime value for your organization. Budget, time and resources will obviously play a role in your decision. But what else should you consider when selecting a digital patient engagement partner for your hospital or health system?
Here are our recommendations for what to consider:
- Health Literacy and/or 24/7 Access to Patient Education – is a digital library important to you? Do you want a “canned” health library or a customizable one filled with information specific to your organization and plans of care?
- Interactivity – do you want a platform that is interactive? Just on mobile or across all devices? Is two-way, secure messaging offered?
- Interoperability with your EHR – will the platform seamlessly integrate with your EHR and existing IT systems?
- Pre-procedure Education – does the platform provide patient education prior to a procedure or “prehabilitation”?
- Pre-procedure Consent – are you hoping the platform offers the ability to execute documents, including consent forms?
- In-Hospital Education – once in the hospital, does the platform offer information to patients? How about to caregivers?
- Discharge Instructions – are interactive instructions sent directly to your patient’s preferred communication device? How long would you like your patient to receive instruction on discharge/transition of care? One week? Up to twelve weeks?
- Assist with Compliance of Discharge Instructions – will your patient receive a care summary and reminders on recovery at home? Is this done automatically?
- Post Care Check-Ins and Care Plans – will your patient be able to easily make follow-up appointments on the platform? Prescription reminders? Diet and exercise information? Are chat-bots utilized to engage, respond and manage conversations? If so, are clinicians automatically alerted when they need to step in?
- Medication Management – can patients request prescription refills? Can you track their medications?
- Appointment Scheduling – will this platform assist with appointment scheduling? Is there an automated scheduling process that offers patients a choice of dates and times?
- Mobile/Desktop/Tablet/SMS Chat – are all of these options offered with the platform? And is it multi-modal in that it can deliver messages to all options (or selected-by-patient options)?
- Family Messaging – can families/caregivers receive the same (or similar) messaging as the patient?
- Self-Reported Outcomes – does this platform have the capability to automatically sync data from smart devices (e.g. blood pressure cuffs, weight scales, CPAP machines, activity trackers)?
- HIPAA Compliant – always top of mind, are all services HIPAA compliant? The answer is likely going to be “yes,” but it’s good to ask.
- Customizable Content – can you customize the content offered to align with your specific clinical practices?
- Reporting – are you able to create and deploy surveys with this platform? Satisfaction surveys? Health risk assessments? Can you send questionnaires to the patient/caregiver about their current medical condition?
- Service Lines – does the platform offer a pathway of care for all of your service lines?
- Clients – who is currently using this system? Don’t just rely on the vendors’ testimonials (they are going to be their “winners”)…do a little digging on your own to make sure their clients are truly happy with the platform.
Are you considering a digital patient engagement platform? Are you finding it difficult to navigate through the decision-making process? Let Corrigan Consulting put our expertise to work for you in finding the best partner to meet your specific needs…and your budget. Drop us a line at info@corriganconsulting.com.