Why Health System Mergers and Partnerships Need Digital Patient Education in Waiting Areas
Congratulations, your health system has been acquired, acquired or forged a relationship with another health system! Your patients now have hundreds of new providers that can help them manage their health and wellness. Your partnership will enable you to provide better care, offer more comprehensive programs, and have access to the latest technologies.
You have announced the alliance in the newspaper, on your website, through social media, in mailers and newsletters, and with signs in your offices. But how effective has that communication been with your current patients? Do they know how to access the network? Are your front office staff touting the new ancillary service providers? Did you explain how your referral system handles these new offices?
This type of information makes or breaks your alliance. Make sure you take the time to focus on:
The new ancillary providers that are now in network. Add personality to these practices by spotlighting their staff, locations and expertise.
The new referral process. Let your patients know what they are going to need to do to access these new providers.
Reassuring your patients that your health system will still provide the same great service but with more convenient locations and with better facilities closer to their home.
Building a culture from the front office back to the providers. By explaining the changes and their impact to your patients and front office staff in a non-threatening way, it will enable you to integrate more quickly.
You need to close the loop by investing in a customizable, ad-free HDTV-based digital patient education system in your waiting areas like those provided by Halo Health. These systems enable you to explain all of the details of the new services, locations, and staff to your current patients while they wait for their appointments. It also enables you to reinforce how great your current providers are.
Most of the time spent “at the doctor’s” is spent waiting. Use this time to be productive and talk to your patients. They do not want mindless TV in the waiting room. They want to know how and why they made the right choice to use your health system. Don’t leave that up to magazines, flyers, posters, and other things that are not as visible as a TV in your waiting room.
Please contact us at Ellen@haloheals.com or at 856-520-8655 to learn how we can help you do this for under $5 per day.
