Patient Acquisition as a Competitive Advantage

The patient intake experience is a patient’s first impression of your clinic, hospital, or practice. Certainly, many providers have lackluster intake processes…but you don’t have to. By approaching the intake experience as a competitive advantage, you will attract more patients, decrease patient leakage, and drive more revenue.

Let’s explore how to make your intake process a competitive advantage.

Typical Intake Experiences

The typical scheduling experience involves a Google search based on location, followed by navigating through a website. Even if online scheduling is available, patients still encounter the hurdle of making a phone call to the office. This entails enduring long waits, answering repetitive questions, waiting for insurance approval for 48 to 72 hours, and filling out redundant pre-appointment paperwork. It is far from a seamless and efficient experience, and it is within these inefficiencies that patient leakage occurs.

Healthcare Transparency and Generation Z

In the modern digital age, patients have an abundance of healthcare options available to them. This becomes increasingly important with the emergence of Generation Z in the healthcare system.

Generation Z is accustomed to digital experiences in various aspects of their lives, including healthcare. According to a survey conducted by Penrod, which involved 500 healthcare consumers, almost 80% of individuals aged 18 to 24 would consider switching to a primary care doctor who offers a more comprehensive range of digital experiences.

Standing Out in the Noise

In a world filled with noise, how can your practice stand out? At Penrod, we believe that the healthcare industry’s hesitancy towards digitalization presents a unique opportunity to gain a competitive advantage.

As more clinics embrace digital tools, the window of opportunity to become a leader in this field is quickly closing. That’s why it is crucial to explore options that not only enhance the patient intake process but also deliver an exceptional overall experience. Let’s seize this moment to redefine healthcare together.

Making your Intake Experience a Competitive Advantage

Embrace Online Forms

Firstly, patients should have the option to complete the initial intake process online. The traditional approach of requiring patients to call the office is no longer sufficient, as more patients prefer scheduling appointments without human interaction. If your clinic doesn’t offer web forms to request an appointment, your patients are seeking that experience elsewhere.

For a no-code and HIPAA compliant form experience, we recommend Titan Forms.

Invest in Expedited Authorization

Secondly, the processes of benefit verification, authorization, and prior authorization need to be expedited. Patients are no longer willing to wait for 72 hours to receive approval when they can easily find providers capable of assessing their insurance eligibility in real-time, including coordination of benefits coverage for MCOs and Medicare Advantage Plans. Automating the benefits verification process is vital in reducing patient leakage.

If you’re interested in platforms, check out Frontrunner Healthcare, a SaaS tool that provides up-to-date patient demographic, insurance, and financial data.

Leverage Automated Engagement

Lastly, patient engagement should be automated. The longer the scheduling process, the higher the chances of patient leakage. Automation, coupled with behavioral triggers and omni-channel communication, plays a vital role in speeding up the intake process.

By incorporating these three features, your intake process will give you a competitive advantage. What advantages can you anticipate as a result?

Benefits

Satisfied Patients

Improved patient satisfaction, fostered through digital experiences, increases patient retention rate, as satisfied patients are more likely to return and seek additional services. This repeated patronage forms the basis for stable and predictable revenue, vital for the financial health and growth of a clinic. Lastly, satisfied patients are more likely to recommend the clinic to others, thereby driving new patient acquisition and increasing market share.

Additionally, patients no longer have to endure long waits on hold or manually fill out forms. With a digital process, they can conveniently schedule appointments and provide their medical history at their own pace. Additionally, digitalization eliminates redundancy and reduces the risk of errors stemming from manual data entry. Our research shows a strong correlation between digital experiences and patient satisfaction. Among providers offering digital experiences, 92% of their patients expressed satisfaction. In contrast, providers without digital experiences achieved only a 73% satisfaction rate.

Efficient Offices

Another important advantage is the significant improvement in office efficiency. Instead of spending valuable time managing paperwork, office staff can focus on more critical tasks. With a digital process, information flows seamlessly, ensuring that all relevant parties have access to up-to-date and accurate patient information. This ultimately leads to better decision-making, improved patient outcomes, and a competitive edge in the ever-evolving digital healthcare landscape.

Accelerated Revenue

A streamlined patient intake process has a direct impact on your bottom line. Digitalizing the intake process allows clinics to serve more patients by reducing administrative inefficiencies. With less time spent on paperwork, clinics can accommodate more patient appointments, increasing overall patient volume and revenue.

Additionally, expedited authorization processes and real-time insurance eligibility assessments result in quicker payments and fewer claim denials. This not only speeds up cash flow but also reduces financial losses associated with denied claims.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in discussing digital transformation, Penrod is here to help. Our Patient Acquisition and Intake Solution, built on Penrod Foundations and Salesforce Health Cloud, empowers patient-centric organizations to effectively manage and track their patient growth strategy from a unified patient engagement platform. By leveraging this solution, organizations can attract more patients, expand their patient base, and drive increased revenue.

The Patient Acquisition & Intake Solution encompasses all the features of Penrod Foundations, offering a seamless user interface, pre-configured settings, and a range of essential automations that enhance efficiency, foster engagement, and boost revenue generation.