Hospitals are dedicating more time to crafting a "digital front door" strategy, as having a strong online and digital presence can be key to patient procurement, engagement and retention. KLAS Research released a report Sept. 28 in which 27 healthcare providers shared their strategies.
Three insights:
- All providers said they use a patient portal, and all but one said they use telehealth. Additionally, most providers use provider search tools, self check-in, appointment self-scheduling, online payment collections, appointment reminders and online patient education.
- Cost estimators, online patient eligibility verification, chatbots, symptom checkers and online referral management were used by roughly half of providers.
- There was significant variance across providers when it came to who oversees their digital front door program. Of the 27 providers, here's who runs their digital front door programs: multiple people (9), CIO (4), CEO (3), chief digital officer (2), chief experience/engagement officer (2), chief marketing officer (2), chief medical information officer (2), other vice president (2), and no one (1).