Why omnichannel communication is the key to revenue in 2021 and beyond
Many health systems had no choice but to pursue a digital strategy due to new restrictions and health risks associated with COVID-19, and they weren’t alone; last year 53% of businesses reported adding digital channels to their existing communication strategies. The many reasons to invest in digital strategies were only amplified by the pandemic. Going forward, digital communication channels will be as essential as their traditional predecessors.
According to behavioral psychology it takes less than a year for a behavior change to become habit. That means new methods for contact, billing, and payments that patients were forced to adopt in 2020 have long since become a hardwired part of their routines. This is not news to many in the industry, but it has become the rationale for many who want to tilt their patient communication strategies from no-digital to digital-only.
This would be a huge misstep.
The healthcare industry in general has been slow to adopt technology. In many ways this is understandable; the highly regulated reality of doing business makes risk aversion a top priority. Additionally, the personalized nature of services lends to the mentality that people must be treated by people. As such, traditional outreach and billing strategies dominated the space, adding to the revenue crisis when providing distance-based channels to patients became a necessity last spring.
Now newly digitized, many of these same systems are hoping to lean-in on their investment and benefit from the lowered overhead costs and shortened time to payment that e-billing practices generally yield. There is nothing wrong with a digital-heavy strategy, but a digital-only strategy ignores one of the biggest lessons that the pandemic taught us—
Patient preferences are more unpredictable than we assume.
Consider seniors, one of the biggest patient demographics. Prior to the pandemic, it was assumed that they preferred traditional outreach and any digital strategy would be incapable of reaching them. Years of statistical consumer behavior data supported this, yet the changes implemented last spring proved otherwise. The senior demographic embraced digital channels including text, email, and even online self-service platforms. In fact, 71% overall say they prefer self-service channels in general. While the increase in digital channel usage may have been predictable, an early study indicates as many as 36% of adults also increased their utilization of voice calls. Perhaps a more telling statistic from the same study…
46% increased digital engagement without minimizing their engagement with traditional channels.
This post-covid engagement data all points to a conclusion few considered: perhaps, communication preferences aren’t linear. That is, patient preferences cannot be compartmentalized by demographic or, for that matter, channel. This is why, in 2021 and beyond, omnichannel strategies are the only strategies. The key to engaging patients with the billing process will be to provide them with service and communication options that are as dynamic as their own personal preferences. By conducting patient outreach via varied channels, you ensure no patient is left behind.