What is Patient Engagement Software and What Does it Mean for You?

Patient engagement software is designed to streamline patient interactions with your practice at every level possible through customizable automation and workflow optimization. This means you and your staff can spend more time connecting with your patients while delivering a satisfying and convenient experience. Keep reading to learn what patient engagement software is and what it could mean for your practice.

What Is Patient Engagement? 

A baseline of patient engagement concepts is important before touching on the specifics surrounding patient engagement software. Patient engagement is a generic phrase used to describe interactions patients have with the healthcare professionals they see. Patient engagement can apply to any medical facility such as hospitals and healthcare systems, specialty practices, outpatient facilities and more. 

Healthcare providers strive for increased patient engagement because it leads to better patient outcomes and reduced costs. Consistent patient engagement can reduce canceled or missed appointments,  increase adherence to patient care plans, support premium service revenue and encourage on time patient payments. 

Specific workflows can be different for medical facilities, but the overarching engagement points are similar. 

Patient Engagement Touchpoints:  

• Patient Scheduling
• Appointment Reminders
• Communications
• Online Patient Check-In
• Insurance Eligibility  
• Payments

What Is Patient Engagement Software?

Patient engagement software is a technology designed to communicate with patients, provide educational resources or manage the patient and provider relationship. The software is an online platform available to patients on all devices – phone, tablet and computer. 

The purpose of a patient engagement platform is to reach out to patients and also for patients to provide information or feedback to the medical practice. 

Experienced patient engagement softwares can integrate with electronic medical records software to maintain patient information for a better overall experience of the medical practice and the patient. 

Benefits of Patient Engagement Software

Healthcare and medical practices of any size can benefit from patient engagement software with their patient base. Hospitals and healthcare systems recognize overall reduced costs by streamlining patient outreach across their wide network. A patient engagement platform offers consistency in patient communication with a large patient base. On the flip side, smaller medical practices can better compete in a large market by automating patient outreach as an extension of their internal staffing. Take a look at some of the specific benefits of patient engagement software for medical practices. 

Features of Patient Engagement Software

Integrated Online Scheduling

Today most patients want to book their appointments online on their own time instead of calling the medical practice. The most traditional scheduling method involved guiding the patient to a phone number to call a staff member and schedule their appointment. The problem with this conventional scheduling method is that it can be inefficient and frustrating for patients to set up a visit. 

When scheduling on the phone, patients need to find time to call during your business hours. But a common problem that many patients run into is they don’t have the time to call during office hours. Calling to schedule their appointment can become inconvenient and may be forgotten during their busy day. These patient interactions can take valuable time away from the front desk at your practice. Staff members often spend too much time on the phone trying to sort through the complicated details of finding a time that works for everyone.

Increase scheduled appointments and decrease staff-managed appointments by setting up an online scheduling system. Online scheduling can be applied to your website putting the control in the hands of your patients and empowering them to reach out to you directly. Sarge or forward-thinking medical facilities consider the connection points between the patient engagement software and their practice management system, used as their internal schedule. Patient engagement platforms are usually cloud-based meaning they can be accessed from any device in your practice eliminating concern with any potential down time of the practice management system. The schedule would always be available in the cloud. 

Digital Patient Check-In

Patient engagement software can even assist your patients by connecting with your practice while checking in for their scheduled appointment. Digital patient check-in is a system designed to allow patients to securely enter their information at their convenience on their preferred device instead of showing up 30 minutes early to their appointment. They can enter demographic information, insurance details, and medical history forms. By making filling out forms digital, you also save on printing and copying costs.   

Patients will do all the work ahead of their appointment. As a result, the check-in process can take as little as a few minutes to complete! While checking in and out, patients can sit down using their mobile device or a tablet that your practice provides them. Depending on their preferred language preferences, you can even change the prompts to make them easier to follow. Often patient engagement softwares will offer a kiosk option for patients who prefer to check-in directly at the practice. Patients will not need to engage with your staff as often so they will have more time to help patients who need assistance. No longer feeling like they are under a time crunch will help make patient interactions feel more meaningful for your staff and patients. Plus patients no longer have to worry about how long it will take to fill out paperwork while waiting to be seen for their appointment. 

Seamless Patient Collections

Patient Collections tools enable patients to pay co-pays or other associated costs that are not covered before treatment, during pre-registration, or check-in. Most patient engagement software allows patients to save payment methods for future use to make return visits even faster. Medical practices can avoid uncomfortable conversations with patients at the end of treatment if there is an issue with their form of payment. 

Insurance Eligibility

Insurance eligibility becomes more of a concern as the No Surprises Act launches in 2022. Since digital patient check-in usually asks for insurance information, the verification process happens automatically to check their benefits. Checking patient insurance benefits saves hours of work for your staff. Patients will receive instant updates to coverage, ensuring that they know what they may owe the practice and increasing chances revenue is collected promptly and cash flow remains consistent. 

Summary of The Value of Patient Engagement Software

Utilizing a patient engagement platform helps your practice thrive in a competitive medical marketplace. Patients already expect great care from providers. In addition to receiving excellent care, they also crave a simplified solution for accessing their care. Patient engagement software simplifies and liberates both patient and provider by automating repetitive tasks and promoting an easy-to-use interface. 

Be a leader in the changing industry by adopting a new way to manage your platforms with Clearwave. Learn more about how Clearwave can change the way your practice operates while increasing your bottom line by calculating your return on investment with our ROI Calculator!