Better Slot Utilization is Easier With New Technology. Do it Right. Now.

Posted by James Kanka on

Tens of millions of people catch as many as a billion colds every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. So curing the cold would be quite a breakthrough – and scientists say that day may come sooner than you think. Of course, while we are waiting, we know that millions of people will be trying to schedule appointments with their doctors, unsure whether or not the symptoms they are battling are actually something worse. And millions of doctors have unfilled appointment slots that they struggle to fill in an efficient manner. Too often, nobody wins!

So when is the big breakthrough coming in the seemingly simple task of making an appointment to see a doctor?

The good news is that the answer is right now. More and more healthcare providers are using modern methods of making convenient appointment times available to their patients who may be in the throes of “sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching” and – you get the idea.

According to a recent industry report, “by the end of 2019, 66% of US health systems will offer digital self-scheduling and 64% of patients will book appointments digitally”. The study predicted that by 2019, 100% of the 100 largest healthcare delivery systems in the U.S. would offer digital scheduling to patients.

Why are caregivers finally taking this leap forward? A few reasons.

We have the technology! The technology is available to move beyond the 1876 innovation of Alexander Graham Bell. Ring, ring! We can now harness the power of the internet to efficiently connect us all with what we need, when we need it. Simply put, it works. Patients don’t want, nor do they have time, to be on the phone. An Accenture study found that the average healthcare appointment scheduling call is over 8 minutes and a caller is likely to get transferred during the call 63% of the time. Infuriating. And no longer necessary, much of the time.

Power to the Patients! Patients have demanded this change. A recent survey found that 44 percent would choose a doctor that allows them to schedule appointments online. More patients than ever before are voting with their feet, and either switching doctors if we find it hard to make an appointment; or going to rival urgent care centers and other alternatives.

The Bottom Line is the Bottom Line! Healthcare provider organizations lose significant potential revenue when they fail to fill slots. At a conference in New England where Everseat was present, a prominent hospital executive reported that his institution sees 1500 to 2,000 appointment slots wasted every week. Imagine the lost revenue. Some say digital scheduling will mean “$3.2 billion in value and a competitive boost for health systems” and it comes from filling slots.

In one orthopedics group we work with at Everseat, when you call to schedule an appointment and find yourself on hold, you will hear something like this:

“Thank you for calling. Please know that you do not have to wait on hold to make an appointment. You can hang up right now and go straight to our website because we post many of our upcoming open appointment slots right there, powered by Everseat. With a few clicks, you will be able to select an appointment that works for you, or let us know that you want to be alerted as soon as one opens up.”

Who knew something that seems so simple as going online to point and click on a website or a mobile app would pass as a major breakthrough! But it makes things easier and could actually make us all healthier too. And again, the business case speaks for itself. With cold season coming, these are compelling reasons for change – and nothing to sniff at, if you pardon the pun. For healthcare providers, this is serious business.

Now if getting rid of the common cold were only as easy. Here’s hoping that those researchers figure it out soon.

If you are with a healthcare provider organization and would like to learn more about what Everseat can do to maximize schedule utilization for you, please see our website at www.everseat.com for videos and more information. If you are someone who just wants to make getting appointments easier – download the Everseat app and follow the directions right to your next doctor’s visit. Thank you.

Yellow Lines on a Hedgehog; or How Healthcare Innovators Can Win the Future

Posted by James Kanka on

hedgehog_roadThere is an expectation in our culture right now that healthcare providers can be better, cheaper, faster, safer, more empathetic, more equitable and more efficient.

Tall order. What will it take to make such a fundamental set of shifts from the status quo? Or, to paraphrase an expression used by U.S. President Barack Obama, what will it take for healthcare innovators to win the future?

Health technology leaders gathered in Chicago this week for a summit facilitated by Becker’s Review. Billed as a “CIO/HIT Summit”, the event played out as a series of conversations in which peers shared their experiences, vented their frustrations, and talked about the kinds of strategies, tools and partnerships that will help healthcare providers get better.

Senior executives from world-leading institutions like the Stanford and University of Chicago medical centers participated, and leaders with highly-regarded regional medical centers like the University of Mississippi, Christus Health, Children’s Hospital of Colorado, and the Heart Hospital Baylor Plano in Texas made up the majority of those on more than 25 expert panels. Allscripts, Inc. CEO Paul Black brought a critical perspective on a panel as well and there were numerous players with insights about mobile technology including Everseat co-founders Dr. Brian Kaplan and CEO Jeff Peres.

When professional conferences are at their best, there is a real exchange of ideas in addition to exchange of business cards, and a sense of common rather than competing interests emerges. That spirit of co-creation is the basis of beginning to feel like real change is possible, and like true innovation might actually occur. The following are three themes that came through loud and clear in Chicago at the Summit:

(1)    The time may really be arriving to put patients first.

Cynics may not believe it but leaders in the provider community understand perhaps better than ever that they need to put patients first. As our own co-founder Dr. Brian Kaplan puts it, “The entire healthcare industry has been focused on how the players communicate with each other. A 180 degree shift is underway in which the focus will be on how we connect with our patients.”

(2)    Mobile technology is about to explode and will touch everything.

Remember when a website was just a website? The CIO of a large health system observed that 2016 will be for mobile what 1996 was for the internet itself. The mobile revolution will not just take place inside the hospital. It may happen even more rapidly in the relationship between provider and patient, simply because patients will demand it.

(3)    Leadership means partnership.

The rapid pace of change means no organization can manage its way forward without strategic, durable partnerships. There is a robust community of innovative organizations that see technology as a way to make people healthier. You can afford to specialize if you have partners whose specialties complement your own.

Yale New Haven Medical Center’s Chief Information Officer Daniel Barchi made everyone laugh with the photo of a freshly painted double yellow line that runs right over the carcass of fresh road-kill, probably a hedgehog. Barchi warned against the kind of narrow thinking that can hold back progress and make us do some pretty stupid things. Barchi was talking of course about the line painting crew, but none of us wants to be the hedgehog either.

Wanted: A New Relationship Based on Empathy

Posted by James Kanka on

Patients are seeking a new relationship with their doctors and other health providers and what they want is … empathy, according to the renowned healthcare provider organization Cleveland Clinic, which just concluded its 6th annual summit on patient empathy, experience and innovation.

Thousands of healthcare leaders, researchers, clinicians and advocates gathered in Cleveland to focus on “how organizations around the world strive to deliver the best clinical, physical and emotional experience to patients and families.” An untold and undoubtedly even larger audience followed the proceedings online.

Numerous innovations in patient experience were on the agenda, including patient-centered care models, communication techniques, plans for educating caregivers, as well as uses for wearable devices, data-rich websites, and mobile apps.

Don’t be misled by the trendiness of the buzzwords. This was not just a gathering to talk about new tricks and new treatments.

Christy Dempsey, chief nursing officer at healthcare consultancy Press Ganey captured the spirit of the event in her address to the audience, saying “[i]t is no longer OK to be just a great clinician, and, “I want you to take a minute and remember that your patients are scared.”

Dempsey’s words support the logic behind University of Indiana Medical School professor Dr. Richard Frankel’s advocacy for better doctor communication, which he spoke about in Cleveland. Frankel recently told a University of Indiana publication that “There now are a number of studies and systematic reviews that show the positive effects of improved communication on patients’ biomedical as well as psychosocial health outcomes.”

Bedside manner, or examining room manner, provides the iconic image of the doctor-patient relationship. But of course the relationship starts even before the patient arrives. It begins with the seemingly innocuous but routinely stressful task of scheduling an appointment. Thanks to creative uses of digital technology, and the talent and innovative spirit of key staff in healthcare provider offices, there are ways to make the process simpler and easier for patients. And it keeps getting better.

The innovations Everseat has developed are very much a part of the push for empathy in the doctor-patient relationship. It all starts with a hassle-free system for setting up a convenient time to see the doctor as soon as possible. When beginning a relationship as important as this one, who wants to get off on the wrong foot?