Digital Experience Platforms (DXP)

Conversational AI is an advanced technology that allows machines to understand, process, and respond to human language in a way that is both contextually relevant and interactive. Within the healthcare sector, this technology is increasingly deployed to automate routine tasks and deliver a more robust and personalized patient experience. Conversational AI leverages a combination of machine learning, natural language processing, and occasionally deep learning to interpret and respond to user inputs, with a conversational user interface that mimics human interaction. Digital health companies deploy conversational AI through chatbots, voice assistants, messaging apps, or any other type of platform where natural language interactions occur.

The Digital Front Door (DFD) methodology has emerged as a pivotal element in enhancing patient engagement, streamlining operations, and ensuring a competitive advantage. In a 2022 KLAS Top of Mind Research Report, 55% of healthcare leaders stated that their organization uses some form of DFD technology. The organizations that didn’t yet have one said it was on their radar for later implementation.

Jen Magaziner, VP, Digital Health at Boston Children's Hospital and Sonia Singh, Chief Insights Officer at AVIA discuss the latest on accelerating innovation at Boston Children's Hospital in AVIA's "Voices of the AVIA Network" series.

What is the digital front door? Digital front door describes a set of interactive and transaction-ready capabilities to enable digital interactions between patients and health systems throughout the care journey, from pre-service to follow-up and payment. When leveraged appropriately, a digital front door strategy can improve patient experiences, drive access, and reduce (or eliminate) reliance on paper-based workflows and manual processes.

AVIA Marketplace's 2024 Top Digital Front Door Companies, including: Why the digital front door matters What leading solutions offer AVIA Marketplace’s top digital front door companies

Patients demand convenient healthcare access akin to online services. A robust digital front door, integrating online scheduling, telehealth, patient portals, symptom checkers, and payment management, is crucial. It offers a competitive edge by enhancing accessibility, patient loyalty, brand perception, market reach, revenue, and leveraging data for insights, ensuring health systems meet modern expectations and stay competitive. Modern patients rightly demand that healthcare access be as straightforward as ordering a meal online or hailing a ride, which is still far from the norm.

According to a report from Accenture, patients are increasingly switching providers, and at least a portion say it’s because of the digital experience. In fact, the report goes on to show that digital engagement is a strong predictor of loyalty. Increasingly, patients say they are less likely to stay with a provider who doesn’t provide a good digital experience, and a bad digital experience effects how they feel about their entire healthcare interaction. In other words, great care or bedside manner doesn’t mean a patient will stay if the rest of their experience doesn’t meet their needs.

In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, health system CIOs, Innovation, Strategy, and Marketing executives are faced with a daunting task: selecting the optimal digital front door solution from a sea of options. This abundance of choices often leads to decision paralysis, costly DIY endeavors, or the adoption of solutions that fail to deliver value to consumers and yield no return on investment.

A consumer-grade digital patient experience solution must facilitate the holistic integration of all patient data, disparate technology solutions, and care services to deliver an experience that’s worth investing in — for both the patient and the health system at large. Otherwise, organizations risk introducing yet another fragmented solution into the market, one that fails to adequately address the diverse needs of patients.

In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, optimizing revenue cycle management (RCM) in healthcare is paramount for providers aiming to maintain financial health while delivering exceptional patient care. However, traditional RCM solutions suffer from glaring inefficiencies that lead to frustrated patients and lost revenue. Enter the digital front door (DFD)—a holistic approach that enhances RCM by digitizing and centralizing various aspects of the patient journey. By streamlining everything from intake to bill pay, the DFD drives efficiency and addresses many of the shortcomings of traditional RCM along the way.

As health systems seek out new ways to improve patient engagement, deliver a more consumer-centric experience, and expand capacity, having a clear digital front door strategy has become an increasingly essential component of their efforts.

The future of healthcare hinges on the powerful synergy between advanced technology and human expertise. The integration of AI is not just a trend but a pressing necessity. Patients are no longer willing to endure long wait times and often switch providers if their expectations for timely service are unmet. Additionally, the heavy workload and stress experienced by healthcare professionals in an overwhelmed system highlight the urgency of adopting AI solutions. AI’s transformative impact on the healthcare sector addresses the critical need for improved patient care and operational efficiency. By strategically integrating augmented intelligence at various touchpoints, health systems can streamline the care journey and offer a comprehensive digital front-door experience, resulting in increased patient satisfaction and higher-quality professional time.

In today’s digital age, a robust digital front door is not a luxury but a necessity for health systems aiming to meet patient expectations, improve operational efficiency, and stay competitive. By adopting a comprehensive DFD strategy, health systems not only enhance the patient experience but also achieve significant operational and financial benefits. As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, the digital front door will play an increasingly central role in shaping the future of patient care and fostering patient loyalty.

For the past two decades, healthcare organizations have heavily invested in EHR systems – rightfully so. However, the times have changed. The real opportunity lies in developing patient loyalty through innovative membership models that provide both operational efficiency and long-term growth.

Patient education is a critical aspect of the modern care delivery experience and when leveraged appropriately, can positively impact every part of the care continuum. Read our comprehensive guide to learn the key components of digital education and what to look for when choosing a solution for your health system.

The Top Patient Education Companies Report is intended to provide healthcare leaders with a broad view of digital patient education and showcase standout companies and solutions with proven market traction. Users can view quick summaries to help them identify which solutions might meet their needs and visit AVIA Connect to access detailed profiles and verified client lists, compare solutions, and generate Match Scores to narrow their selections.

SeamlessMD provides a digital care journey platform for hospitals and health systems to engage, monitor, and stay connected with patients throughout the care continuum. More than 35 clinical studies and evaluations have shown SeamlessMD to improve the patient experience while reducing length of stay, ED visits, and readmissions. Large health systems like UAB, Intermountain, Atrium, University Hospitals, MultiCare, Baystate and others rely on SeamlessMD to elevate the patient experience, improve outcomes, and lower costs. Patients access digital care plans on their smartphones, tablets, or computers and are guided via reminders, evidence-based education, and progress tracking. Providers receive alerts, monitor patients, and access analytics to deliver better care. SeamlessMD is directly integrated with leading EHRs solutions such as Epic, Oracle Cerner, and MEDITECH.

Since its founding in 1975, Healthwise has earned a reputation as one of the most respected patient education companies in the industry, with a broad portfolio of solutions to inform healthcare consumers at all points across the care continuum. Healthwise solutions enable physicians to deliver health education at the point of care, with content that includes instructions, videos, and decision support tools for patients. Health systems can also use Healthwise content to augment their content libraries, support digital care journeys, and implement standards-based education. All content reflects current standards of care and is designed to help providers and payers meet patients exactly where they are.

Krames’ patient education and health literacy solutions were created to standardize education, meet compliance goals, and improve the patient experience, with materials available in a variety of formats and languages to meet patients wherever they are. Clinical education is developed at a fourth to sixth grade reading level, with engaging visual content to support learning objectives, and is available in 17 languages. Patients can receive critical education wherever they are with solutions that enable delivery through mobile devices, hospital televisions, and even traditional printed materials, with more than 600 available titles across 40 specialties.

Orbita embraces an all-encompassing view of patient education–we believe that education should be viewed as the objective and outcome of virtually any patient interaction. It includes not only education about diseases, conditions, and treatment, but also guidance for patients to help them effectively engage with the health system and clinical staff before, during and after encounters.

AVIA Marketplace's Top Patient Education Companies Why patient education matters What leading solutions offer AVIA Marketplace’s top patient education companies

AVIA Marketplace's Top Patient Education Companies Report | Fall 2024