COVID-19 advanced telehealth in ways we have not seen before. Adoption of telehealth services prior to the pandemic hovered optimistically around 11 percent. One year later, adoption skyrocketed to 46 percent of patients using telehealth to replace their typical care appointments.*
Patient adoption of telehealth means practices have had to ramp up their telehealth offering practically overnight, often with varying results.
The loser of the adoption-by-fire strategy is the patient and practice experience. The practice premise being that we need the technology, any technology now. And the patient premise being that it’s better than not receiving care.
Strip away the “healthcare innovation” mantle and what you see is an industry whose thinking lags the technology that we all use every day. Take, for example, your phone. How often do you use it as a phone? The healthcare industry is evolving at a rapid pace, with healthcare consumerism driving behavior and the adoption of new technologies like telehealth. However, we are pushing new technology without addressing the systemic restrictions that make the healthcare system so cumbersome. For example, it’s great that we can now fill out our insurance information from our phones, but why transcribe this information when, with a few clicks, we can send an electronic insurance card.
We are pushing new technology without addressing the systemic restrictions that make the healthcare system so cumbersome.
GoCrew was founded on the idea that virtual care patient experience should be simple and seamless. With just a few touches, patients can be chatting with their medical or dental practice, jump on a telehealth visit, and receive video follow-up care instructions, and an encounter transcript, all at their fingertips. For their part, the practice can simply integrate GoCrew for a personalized experience, with huge ROI.
Why is this important to the experience?
- Experience can drive satisfaction. Data shows that patients who engage with their providers are more likely to gain better health outcomes. Many insurance companies are adopting 3rd party telehealth solutions where you visit a new provider every time. Not only does this impact the well-being of the patient, but also the well-being of their independent provider.
- Experience can increase patient adherence. Studies have shown that the use of short video clips allows for more efficient processing and memory recall. The visual and auditory nature of videos appeals to a wide audience and allows each user to process information in a way that’s natural to them.
- Experience can drive loyalty. As our healthcare system evolves from a fee-for-service to outcomes-based reimbursement model, patient loyalty and the patient relationship are huge drivers in outcomes, but also in practice revenue.
Driving innovation doesn’t start with the current healthcare experience. It starts with the current human experience and builds off the technologies we use every single day.