The healthcare patient journey is driven by opportunities to connect.

The pressures of the COVID-19 crisis have accelerated digital transformation and IT innovation throughout healthcare. Automating document workflows and digitizing documents are now key business drivers at leading healthcare organizations. 

More than one-third of LGBT patients said they had a negative provider experience in the last two years, compared to 22 percent of non-LGBT people, according to recent survey findings from Kaiser Family Foundation.

The pandemic upended the healthcare industry and forced payers, providers and patients alike to reimagine the experiences of giving and receiving care. For nearly all of 2020, the healthcare industry relied on digital solutions to bring healthcare to people when they needed it, wherever they needed it.

In recent years, the importance of patient engagement has increased sharply.

Many adult patients may not fully understand their care plans after they are discharged from the hospital, according to The Leapfrog Group's Patient Experience Report released July 8.

Although most health systems have centralized call center operations, the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations to implement alternative solutions, including outsourcing.

Efficiently handling incoming calls is a challenge for hospitals and health systems. Long hold times and multiple transfers create patient dissatisfaction, while high call volumes and outdated technology increase stress and frustration for operators and agents by making their tasks harder. 

Well over a decade ago, the way we measure patient experience was transformed when the HCAHPS survey was launched. 

As consumers expect healthcare experiences to be more like their interactions with tech companies, health systems have an opportunity to grow their market share, become a patient's partner for life and influence the health of their communities.

When making purchasing decisions, consumers increasingly rely on online reviews, particularly through Google, a trend that has extended into healthcare. Although healthcare executives recognize this trend, most are struggling to take advantage of the opportunity.

Organizations without a scheduling-centric healthcare workforce management solution struggle to optimize providers' time and  maximize patient access to care. These organizations often lack real-time visibility into critical provider data and have uncertainty about their capacity to provide care. 

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spectrum Health will now permit two visitors per day for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the health system said June 16. 

Text messaging changed the way people communicate, but secure text messaging is still an underutilized option in healthcare.

If other prices at the grocery store grew at the rate healthcare prices have since World War II, consumers would be paying $55 for a dozen eggs, $48 for a gallon of milk and $134 for a dozen oranges. That’s more than $10 per orange.

As patient expectations evolve, many healthcare organizations are experimenting with new ways to increase engagement, loyalty and trust between patients and providers.

The pandemic drove healthcare organizations to finally offer what patients have been requesting for years: an improved digital experience.

Just as consumers look to online reviews to decide where they’ll go for dinner or purchase a new product, they  also look to online reviews and ratings to select their healthcare providers. 

Over the past year, healthcare organizations have experienced financial difficulties. In response, many leaders turning their attention to cleaning up revenue cycle management processes. This work has highlighted the need for patient collection processes that deliver safety, convenience, transparency and accuracy.

The chief experience officer, or CXO, role in healthcare is still relatively new on the scene.