Patient relationship management is a lot of work – If you try to do it manually.
I always recommend using a patient relationship management tool to manage a majority of relationships.
Add humans for the final mile. That’s it.
You can start small – not try to “boil the ocean” initially.
Patient Emails
Your practice might have access to a significant number of patient e-mail addresses. These were likely collected for portal enrollment and to send reminders. These emails can be used for a patient newsletter that focuses on engaging patients in their care.
For example, articles about the flu vaccine; when to call the on-call, use an urgent care, or go to the Emergency Room; positive reminders to get preventative screenings – e.g., depression, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, etc… – or to remind patients that you have same day access (if it exists) and on-call availability.
Such reminders – even if the patient were told already – could help increase patient satisfaction and reduce unnecessary Emergency Room utilization.
ER visits/utilization is probably tied to at least one incentive your practice is involved in.
Patient mobile numbers
In all probability, you have mobile numbers of your patients (at least a majority of them).
It’s so simple (using technology) to send automated appointment reminders, automated appointment recall messages, automated wellness visit reminders, virtual checkin messages.. and so on / so forth.
Patient Relationship Management is going to become increasingly necessary as patients demand better service from their healthcare providers and continue seek optimal value for their healthcare dollars.
Additionally, many employers and insurance companies are looking at patient satisfaction when determining either who to include in-network or who to incentivize.
It behooves any medical practice looking to succeed in the long term to begin adopting such practices now when it can be done in a deliberate, careful manner.