by Nilesh Patel
The Indian healthcare industry is a highly competitive sector, having seen a range of innovations and developments in the last decade. From private practices to hospitals, home health services, and more, the sector is driven by its goal of improving the quality of care given and the patient experience as a whole.
A recent report predicts that by the end of 2023, the worldwide healthcare customer relationship management (CRM) market would be worth USD 17.4 billion. CRM solutions have been a game-changer in enhancing patient experience through improved services based on feedback and cumulative data that assists in analyzing the patient and caretaker’s preferences.
To enhance the patient experience, particularly patient intake, healthcare providers are investing heavily in domain-focused CRM solutions. Information on a patient is gathered prior to their appointment as part of the patient intake process. It comprises consent forms, demographic and clinical data, insurance information, payment information, and other important details. Both existing and new patients must go through the patient intake procedure, which requires a deep understanding of each patient’s characteristics and preferences to offer the best quality of service and care.
Challenges for existing healthcare intake setups
The standard patient intake process involves a lot of documentation and takes a long time. The process starts when a patient decides to schedule a visit. To speak with a receptionist, the patient must first contact the clinic, which often involves a lot of time being wasted in waiting. According to research, patients rate healthcare professionals much worse when there are long waits. The average wait time at the offices with the top reviews is 13 minutes The wait times for places with some of the worst reviews were 34 minutes.
It takes time to fill out the consent form and personal information. In addition, handwritten intake forms are also prone to mistakes. When they are dealing with an emergency, it is also difficult for patients to sit and enter the required data. Electronic patient intake forms are hence, essential, as information can be easily available thanks to automated documentation, information gathering, and storage that can all take place on the cloud.
How CRM can improve the process
Here are several methods for automating the various intake processes:
1. Tools for electronic signatures and digital documents
Most patients today want to be able to communicate with their doctors online. Online intake forms can make patient-provider communication easier. You can offer patient portals where they can sign up, submit the necessary paperwork, electronically sign consent forms as needed, obtain test results, and more. You can also join up for specialist tools as an alternative. Just make sure the apps you select are HIPAA compliant as you are responsible for protecting and keeping your patient’s information secure.
2. Create a patient profile and group patients according to their needs.
An account or record that contains crucial details about a patient and their interactions with a clinic is called a patient profile. Typically, it involves:
- Basic facts and demographic information, such as gender, age, and family.
- Medical background, including any hereditary disorders or allergies
- Current health conditions or health problems
- Consultation information, schedules, and more
You can learn more from these details about how patients use your service. A digitalized patient profile assists in providing personalized support and customizing care.
3. Use a CRM to gather, store, and retrieve data automatically
A healthcare CRM is a necessary investment for any practice that wants to succeed. By 2023, it is anticipated that the worldwide healthcare CRM industry would be worth 17.4 billion dollars.
A CRM will make the patient intake process much more efficient because it can:
- Create precise and accurate patient profiles
- Round-robin-style distribution of patient enquiries to available providers
- Automatically set up appointments when clients make online reservations
- Centralize patient data across departments and healthcare professionals
- Produce prognostic reports based on a patient’s family and personal medical history
- Track all of the interactions a patient has with healthcare practitioners
- Integrate with the hospital administration system, EHR/EMR, payment platform, and other tools you employ to gain a complete picture of your patients and processes.
Healthcare CRM: Essentials and benefits
Three key elements make up a strong patient intake process:
- Providing a convenient patient experience
- Carefully managing wait times, data, and patient privacy
- Ensuring that all information is accurate and consistent
A digital intake procedure offers a number of advantages, such as:
- Digitized patient intake forms
- Automated and convenient online booking
- Digital documentation and patient activity tracking
- Online payment alternatives
Nilesh Patel, Founder and CEO of LeadSquared(DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETHealthworld does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETHealthworld.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person / organisation directly or indirectly.)
