Patient Engagement Blog

Electronic health records (EHRs) play a prominent role in the healthcare industry, offering numerous benefits for today’s practices and providers. 

However, the rise of healthcare consumerism and shift to value-based care have completely transformed the way physicians deliver care to their patients. As a result, EHR vendors are now tasked with ensuring their products evolve in ways that help their physician customers better serve their patients—but doing so is easier said than done.

Healthcare organizations and providers are increasingly focused on finding ways to improve efficiency, simplify operations, and achieve more positive patient outcomes. The Meaningful Use (MU) program—also called the Promoting Interoperability (PI) program—was established to help accomplish exactly that. However, successfully complying with these mandates requires a strategic approach and the right technology.

Find out what Meaningful Use is and how InteliChart’s Patient Portal helps healthcare practices and providers address it.

Patient engagement is so much more than just a buzzword; it’s a must for healthcare practices today. Engaging patients in the evolving healthcare space requires practices to constantly look for more effective ways to better meet consumer expectations.

In recent years, healthcare practices and providers have focused on ensuring fair and equitable access to care for every individual. Countless disparities have come to light, emphasizing the need for better health equity across various patient populations due to  social determinants of health (SDOH). 

Patient access to healthcare is a significant industry-wide area of concern that many stakeholders are committed to improving. When patients cannot access providers, it’s impossible for them to receive the care they need and deserve. The rise of retail health clinics is slowly improving patient access to healthcare, and it’s simultaneously creating competition for traditional practices because these clinics offer more flexible hours and cost transparency.

The patient registration process needs to be as simple as possible for everyone involved, from patients to office staff and providers. The rise of healthcare consumerism means that care access has expanded to big-box retail stores like CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, further accelerating the need for a seamless registration experience. 

The shift from volume-based care to value-based care has completely transformed the healthcare industry. Value-based care is a form of healthcare reimbursement based on quality and clinical outcomes, as opposed to the number of services provided.

Rather than following the traditional fee-for-service payment model, healthcare practices now strive to focus on overall quality of care, patient satisfaction, and health outcomes. These “fee-for-performance” payment models are slowly but surely raising quality standards, improving patient outcomes, and reimagining care delivery across the board—but for providers, adapting the way they serve patients is easier said than done.

Manual, inefficient workflows are a thing of the past in almost every industry, and healthcare is no exception. Automation in healthcare is nothing new: Technological advances have completely changed the game, enabling practices and providers to streamline time-consuming processes and improve their operations.

Although many are already taking advantage of technology to automate manual workflows, some are not quite there yet. The truth is, the degree to which you embrace technology to work more efficiently can make or break your practice, so the sooner you get on board, the better.

COVID-19 has fundamentally changed many aspects of the healthcare industry, including how care is delivered, how technology is used, and everything in between. Now as we begin looking beyond the pandemic, healthcare leaders must determine what these changes mean for the future of patient engagement and how practices should take note over the next year to prepare for what’s to come. 

What’s next for patient engagement in a post-COVID-19 era? Here’s our take:

Engagement is both beneficial and essential for the 800,000+ U.S. residents in assisted living communities. Research has revealed a number of mental and physical health benefits for assisted living residents who engage in social activities, form strong interpersonal connections, and remain as actively involved as possible in their own care.

However, residents living in assisted living communities may struggle to stay engaged—especially now, as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps loved ones away. Let’s discuss the importance of engagement for assisted living residents, as well as different activities you can use to boost it during the pandemic and beyond.