Imagine a front door – a literal one. More than a simple entryway, the front door to your home or business makes a first impression, inviting guests into the space with a spirit of a warm welcome. An inspired front entrance also adds value and curb appeal, attracting newcomers.

Now, take that idea and apply it to a healthcare setting. Imagine the significance of an attractive, convenient digital front door to a hospital or clinic, one that allows patients to engage with providers and take an active role in their medical care.

Interestingly, the digital front door has become a major buzzword in patient experience conversations these days. But what is it exactly?

In the most general terms, a digital front door acts as the virtual medium or digital bridge patients use to interact with healthcare providers. If done right, the system provides 24/7 access to providers and specialists, simplifying the logistics (on any device) of scheduling appointments, viewing test results, and communicating before and after visits.

Let’s look at how demand for this technology came about and why healthcare providers should pay attention.

COVID-19 and the Rise of Consumer-Driven Care

Pre-COVID, the world of healthcare looked quite different. Most patients picked up an actual phone to schedule an appointment, drove to a brick-and-mortar facility, and read a magazine in the waiting room. After the visit, they left with a fistful of paperwork and a head full of conversations and instructions to remember. The entire experience was often clunky and time-consuming.

Take this 2018 study, for example. It looked at average wait times for non-emergency doctor appointments in major U.S. cities. In Boston, patients waited an average of 72 days to see a provider. In Denver, they waited 37 days, and the list goes on.

When COVID hit, patients experienced an even greater lack of access as facilities shut down nonessential care. At the same time, many offices introduced virtual visits as a way to balance safety with prompt care. And the practice stuck.

Two years later, statistics show that excitement about telehealth and virtual care has grown, especially in patients ages 35-44. Almost 70% of those in this age range remain enthusiastic about receiving care in the comfort of their homes.

Even beyond virtual visits, both patients and providers have grown accustomed to technology’s growing role in healthcare. Combine this attitude with the digital-first solutions found in other industries, and you get patients-turned-consumers who expect to engage with medical providers via multiple touchpoints.

From the patient perspective, this new mindset isn’t only about convenience. It includes control, as well. When technology streamlines each step of the patient journey, people gain:

• A more active role in directing their healthcare
• A feeling of being part of the care team, not simply a voiceless bystander
• An easier scheduling, communication, and billing experience

For providers, a digital front door puts nurses, doctors, and specialists on a connected network of open communication, complete data, and simplified processes for delivering treatment. In both cases, the outcome is better care. Shouldn’t that always be the end game for healthcare technology?

Pick a Door, Any Door

As demand for digital front doors increases, the tech industry continues to respond in kind. Today, facilities use a variety of applications to fulfill this need, including:

• Online Appointment Scheduling: A refreshingly literal software, online appointment scheduling gives patients an expedient way to snag a spot that fits their schedule. Some organizations use the patient portal for scheduling, but most have distinct systems that work with their patient intake technology and digital call centers. Although online scheduling is optimal for many patients, some facilities might prefer to maintain a call center for anyone who finds that route more appropriate.
• Digital Symptom Checkers: This technology can help patients assess need and urgency and guide them toward their primary care provider, an emergency room, or urgent care clinic. Generally powered by chatbot technology and leveraging clinical best practices, online symptom checkers can be excellent time and energy savers.
• Patient Intake Tech: Virtual patient intake systems let patients complete the necessary paperwork at home before their set appointment time. Not only does this technology shorten waiting room time and help transition patients to exam rooms, but it can also ease claims management efforts by giving patients and staff a chance to review claims and revise patient or health plan data before the visit.
• Virtual Waiting Rooms: Initially established to mitigate safety concerns during COVID-19’s surge, virtual waiting rooms gave patients an alternative space to wait for their upcoming appointments (usually their cars or a designated outdoor setting). In most cases, this technology lets patients alert the office of their arrival via a link or text message, and then providers send a follow-up text telling patients when to enter the building.
• Digital Billing and Price Transparency: Financial tools like online bill payment and price transparency systems make it easier for patients to evaluate and pay for medical care. Price transparency tools help ease the headache of estimating the cost and quality of various providers, enabling more informed decisions and increased control. Post visit, online bill pay eases both patient and provider burdens. For patients, they can more easily (and privately) pay for care, while providers get relief from patient collections efforts.
• Provider Hubs: Savvy organizations use tools that bring patients and providers together. These platforms give patients a single, convenient place to see and communicate with their entire care team, including primary physicians and specialists. This setup allows providers to collaborate with shared data and patients to receive complete, convenient care.

What the Numbers Say

The pressure healthcare facilities feel to give patients and providers accessible and practical digital solutions will continue to increase. Certainly, there’s no lack of statistical data to support such a claim.

• In our survey of 100 hospital executives, 19% of respondents reported an inability to quickly see test results and difficult provider communication as leading pain points with patient interface software.
• Another 18% reported difficulty setting appointments, lack of virtual appointment options, and data security concerns.

• A Digital Health Consumer Survey showed that 39% of consumers strongly agree that a positive digital interaction has a significant impact on the overall provider experience.
• 63% of patients say they’d switch providers if not satisfied with how they pay for and understand any costs connected to their care.

Why Healthcare Providers Need a Comprehensive Solution

The combination of a changing patient-consumer mindset and increased competition means healthcare organizations, including hospitals and other providers, can’t ignore the call to provide a digital front door that benefits both patients and providers.

When thoughtfully executed, a high-quality platform not only empowers patients to seize a more active role in their healthcare but gives hospital staff the necessary tools to simplify, expedite, and enhance the overall patient experience.

So, take a hint from all those savvy homeowners out there tirelessly searching for the perfect shade of blue for their front doors. Because first impressions are everything.

MazikCare Real-Time Health Solutions Built on Microsoft Dynamics

Quisitive understands the plight of making healthcare technology more integrated and accessible. That’s why we designed MazikCare a real-time healthcare solution that offers a digital front door for patients, providers, and payers. Powered by Microsoft Dynamics and the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, MazikCare offers a cloud platform to boost patient engagement, optimize revenue cycle management and secure patient and provider data for exceptional care delivery across the entire healthcare continuum.

MazikCare Care Path makes life easier for patients. Care Path invites patients to join the care team by facilitating shared decision-making between themselves, caregivers, and multiple providers. Secure information sharing, virtual communication, and unified patient profiles make collaboration effortless, while tools like in-app forms, reminders, and care plan tracking keep patients in the driver’s seat. Ready to transform your corporate budgeting, planning, reporting & corporate performance management? We can help! With over 30 years of experience helping companies implement and optimize corporate performance management software, our team of experts is here to help analyze your existing processes and recommend the right solution to meet your needs.

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More than ever, healthcare professionals rely on software to do their jobs. A lot of software. In a typical healthcare organization, staff might have dozens (or hundreds) of systems in use by different departments. Some common tier-1 applications include:

• Electronic medical records (EHR/EMR)
• Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)
• Hospital information system (HIS)
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP)
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Supply & inventory management (SCM)
• Medication management
• Telehealth/Telemedicine programs
• Data analytics software
• Patient Portals
• Laboratory information systems (LIS)
• Radiology Information System (RIS)
• Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)
• Integration Engines

If copious amounts of technology made healthcare professionals’ work easier, faster, or improved patient care, the added administrative tasks would feel worth it.

Unfortunately, the data often sits in silos separated by system, purpose, or function. When this happens, providers are often left scrambling to collaborate, access meaningful tools, and efficiently serve patients. This lack of tech integration led a Forbes article to label data silos as “healthcare’s silent shame.” Ouch.

As the author explains:

For starters, most hospitals – even leading centers – are struggling to meaningfully organize the genetic and phenotypic data of their own patients in a fashion that can truly inform clinical decision-making.

For starters, most hospitals – even leading centers – are struggling to meaningfully organize the genetic and phenotypic data of their own patients in a fashion that can truly inform clinical decision-making.

How Data Silos Happened and Why They Matter

When HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) became law in 2009, it required healthcare organizations to use electronic health records and achieve “Meaningful Use” goals. While this legislation helped advance the industry’s focus on data, it fell short of what we now see as vital – a requirement to standardize records so data could be shared among health systems.

As it happened, healthcare facilities began widely adopting electronic records before we saw the mess that dispersed data created. Thirteen years later, the repercussions of this oversight continue to plague the industry, including hospitals, where diverse teams of providers and support staff must access and understand vast amounts of digital information on a minute-by-minute basis.

Add these administrative requirements to an increasingly competitive market, and you get the current situation, one the Surgeon General has labeled a crisis due to worker burnout and resignation. Although it’s a complex issue exacerbated by the challenges of COVID-19, experts agree that administrative burdens play a large role in healthcare’s mass exodus.

Data silos contribute to the strain by creating glaring inefficiencies from both patient and provider perspectives, especially within hospital settings. Here’s how:

    1. Day-to-day operations

Hospital professionals must accurately evaluate and meet patient needs while effectively managing hospital resources. Triage, admission, and discharge decisions (patient flow) are hindered when staff can’t access the right data at the right time because everyone uses varying systems that don’t integrate. That is, the right foot does A while the left does B, leaving both at a standstill.

Entering notes and communication is the most significant pain point for hospital leaders.

When staff ack access to real-time information, like which and how many beds are occupied or available, patients can sit in waiting rooms for hours while beds sit empty or waiting to be cleaned. Other times, physicians may question whether to send a patient to the ICU or a general ward because they can’t access multiple medical records and medication lists.

And let’s not forget the elephant always in the room – the never-ending task of data entry, when doctors and nurses are forced to enter the same information into different systems over and over again. We recently conducted a private survey of 100 hospital leaders about healthcare technology concerns. Respondents listed difficulty entering notes and communication as their most significant software pain point.

Outdated or disjointed systems also strain supply management efforts. How can any team, especially healthcare professionals who work in a high-intensity environment, meet patient needs when they don’t have or can’t find essential medical supplies?

    2. The bottom line

The financial implications of data silos can’t be ignored. Hospitals need funds to operate, and run an effective healthcare facility requires balancing the budget and minimizing waste. When systems don’t integrate, the problems created by long wait times, excessive paperwork, and supply mismanagement make the cost of doing business go up.

Take supply struggles, for example. Physicians, nurses, and pharmacists may use different supply and materials management systems, some more sophisticated than others. While one team might use software to understand what and how much gets used, another may rely on a desktop spreadsheet, and another on post-it notes (it’s been known to happen).

The disparity and lack of confidence in systems can then lead to inventory hoarding, a sloppy but not unheard-of occasion in which staff shoves essential supplies in a cabinet or closet in case they run out at a crucial moment. This “just in case” method often negates the “just in time” ordering so many hospitals strive for. Obviously, such practices are neither sustainable nor cost-effective.

Further driving costs upward, many hospitals use software from different vendors, making it harder to manage costs and upgrades (e.g., one system gets replaced while another sits aging on a shelf).

Our recent surveys confirm the extent of supply frustration, as respondents listed differing ordering systems that don’t communicate across departments and lack of visibility for vendor discounts as the top complaints against supply management technology.

    3. Regulatory compliance

Healthcare professionals follow a lot of rules. While compliance obligations fall under a broad umbrella, most relate to patient safety and privacy.

In a hospital setting where different teams routinely compile and access electronic health records, maintaining patient privacy remains a top priority. It’s also a major cause of data silos and why sharing records between providers is so tricky.

Also, when the time comes for teams to prove compliance, they have to chase data from system to system, making the job time-consuming and unpleasant. This consistent tracking of outcomes will also prove useful for insights when planning continuous improvement protocols.

    4. Patient care

Despite the stress data silos put on other areas of healthcare, patient care bears the brunt. The fact is, disordered medical data stifles complete, timely care.

First, like providers, patients spend significant time repeatedly filling out identical paperwork, wondering why each process exists when surely the information must sit in a cloud somewhere.

Referrals become clunky and labor intensive, and patients stay frustrated with care that resembles a patchwork of providers at various venues – outpatient facilities, primary care practices, specialty clinics, and hospitals. And few of these sites communicate with the others.

Effective diagnosis and treatment then take a hit because providers often get an incomplete picture of medical history, medications, and specialist care. All the while, patients spend extensive time in a hospital waiting room when all they want is relief. A unified data pool with even access across the system can significantly improve the continuity of care by allowing medical teams to collaborate and treat the whole patient.

The Solution: Unify Data Under a Single Platform

In good news, many hospitals understand the problems data silos create and are actively trying to improve the situation. As such, our survey found that 75% of respondents with EHR systems have established a budget for upgrades.

Here at Quisitive, we think having a single platform that houses multiple healthcare-ready solutions is the way forward. Here’s why:

• Providers get complete, accessible, real-time information, making them aware of critical patients, specialty physicians, and other necessary data that aids patient flow.
• Unified data makes it easier for regulatory teams to prove compliance.
• Integrated solutions help hospital staff and administrators limit who enters or re-enters patient information, ensuring data gets shared without breaching HIPAA and other regulations. Hospitals can then balance access and security.
• Fewer vendors (offering a single platform) make it easier to manage software costs and upgrades.
• Patients receive less paperwork, fewer repetitive questions, and prompt care.
• Leveraging a cohesive data set allows hospitals to create a plan for continuous improvement.
• Shareable data streamlines the referral process so that patients can see specialists sooner.

When health systems and their end users collaborate with access to unified data, everyone wins. Hospital administration, providers, and support staff have one less chore to worry about. Weary patients receive much-needed relief as medical facilities more effortlessly move toward value-based care. Provider-patient relationships strengthen, and costs stabilize for everyone.

Quisitive knows healthcare

Our real-time health solution, MazikCare, helps accomplish all the above – giving healthcare professionals indispensable access to data via a single platform, empowering informed decisions and enhanced patient care. Built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, MazikCare provides a digital bridge between patients, providers, and payers, streamlining and unifying each patient record, cutting down on vendor bloat and enabling care providers to save time and resources. MazikCare is the only platform on the market ready for healthcare businesses from Day 1, offering reduced implementation time, lower total cost of ownership, and accelerated ROI.

Get in touch! Ready to transform your corporate budgeting, planning, reporting & corporate performance management? We can help! With over 30 years of experience helping companies implement and optimize corporate performance management software, our team of experts is here to help analyze your existing processes and recommend the right solution to meet your needs. Get in touch