Making Medicine a One-Click Holistic Ecosystem

Private healthcare in particular has benefits from a wealth of opportunities when it comes to creating an ecosystem in which patients can learn how to engage with their own day-to-day health. Such an ecosystem can support not just a more holistic, well-rounded approach to treatment, but also a more comprehensive and prophylactic effort at perfecting diagnostics and telemedicine amongst other areas.

As suggested by a survey run by McKinsey & Co., people are already spoiled for choice in other industries, so they are starting to expect the same high standard of service in healthcare. Although these findings pertain to an American cohort of patients, there is clearly a growing demand for quality medical services throughout Europe too. This is especially true in the case of telemedicine, and data gathered by Morgan Stanley shows that 80% of the population uses the internet in some form and 60% own a smartphone.

Lavinia Ionita, medical doctor, CEO & co-founder of Akesio, said: “The switch from the reactive to pro-active medicine has already started and more and more individuals adhere to the concept of ‘personalised health’ and a ‘preventative approach.’ Health shouldn’t wait and we ought to build our health and wellbeing every single day, especially since making lifestyle changes is now recognised as one of the most powerful and accessible ways to stay healthy and vigorous.

“However, doctors need more tools to make sense of these different types of data to do with their patients’ health and patients themselves need more user friendly ways to get engaged in their own data collection.”

To create an integrated ecosystem, clinics must be able to unite clinical and non-clinical services. Here’s how Medesk helps you achieve this goal.

Give patients ‘online access’ to their healthcare

Patients need comprehensive access to their medical records, having the right to know the full clinical picture including diagnoses and treatment plans. As patients are becoming increasingly digitally-minded, so should you be. Let new patients book online with as little restriction as possible and they’ll be far more likely to choose your clinic.

Track the patient journey

To give patients the best possible service, you have to understand their needs perfectly even though they might have only just arrived on your practice website. Smart management platforms that integrate client relationship management functions allow you to track the patient journey right from how they found you online all the way to the handling of their clinical complaints. This is incredibly powerful stuff, and when you realise that Google receives 7,800 search queries about health every 60 seconds, you can see why!

Give your patients what they want

Since medical practices often post online ads offering various services, it would seem that patients are being spoken to in the language of marketing and promotion. However, medicine is not a seller’s market, but a buyer’s one. Some would say rightly so as patients come to see a doctor when they feel particularly unwell, and it’s the clinic’s task to gain the patient’s trust during such an ordeal.

It’s vital that you analyse what really influenced each patients’ decision to visit your clinic – this knowledge is frequently the first stepping stone towards gaining their trust. Medesk helps you to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of your advertising channels, telling you how many patients were brought in by each one. Our own research would suggest that only around 20% of advertising campaigns end up being cost-effective, with the remainder being a waste of time, energy and money due to improper data analysis.

Maintain open avenues of communication

Communication is something that should never be interrupted, and using a preview dialer can ensure smooth, consistent contact with patients. Patients may want to call you at any time, even during the middle of the night. IP telephony registers every phone call so you can get back in touch with your patients as soon as your clinic opens for business in the morning. Better still, you could just call them back right away whenever reasonable.

Create unique email newsletters via which you can share information with your patients in your own inimitable style. Send SMS appointment reminders and stay in touch by setting up some kind of round-the-clock support options even if you can’t get to the phone yourself.

These simple tools and ideas are just part of the future of a more holistic and integrated healthcare ecosystem. Electronic health records, digital prescriptions, and an automated reminder and notification system all permit you to formulate a full workflow cycle that keeps patients engaged both online and off.

After their consultation and treatment, digital services provide a range of clinical and relationship management options. Your clinic itself can keep in touch with your patients whereas individual doctors can develop and reuse treatment plans for anything from prophylactic measures to prescriptions and rehabilitation. In other words, these are the first steps towards building a truly one-click holistic ecosystem for your clinic and its patients.