The majority of American adults-an astonishing 81.5 percent-turn to the internet for health-related information.1 But the large majority of patients don’t visit a health system website before making a healthcare decision, and often have difficulty finding and accessing appropriate convenient care options. Meanwhile, ambulatory capacity often goes unfilled, and health systems risk losing commercially insured patients and revenue to alternative online channels and disruptors.
Alignment with effective digital strategy
Health systems must go beyond doing digital-that is, offering a handful of basic digital options-and be digital in order to remain competitive against convenient direct-to-consumer services. Successful long-term digital strategy requires digital front door capabilities that meet patients where they are when they begin searching for care and guide them through the entire care journey.
Better outcomes and improved patient satisfaction
A consumer-centric healthcare experience-which necessarily includes an effective digital front door strategy-bolsters trust in health systems, drives accessibility, and decreases the likelihood that patients will defer care.2 Patients who defer care are more likely to report to emergency rooms and urgent care clinics, and more than a third of patients who defer care make five or more urgent care or ED visits per year.
Direct return on investment
Consumers increasingly value convenience and cost transparency when researching care options, and are more likely to select providers with greater appointment availability and online scheduling.3 Flexible self-service options, like insurance verification and appointment check-in, continue to drive patient satisfaction throughout the care journey and motivate patients to return.
