Many commentators have heralded the rise of consumerism in healthcare for creating higher levels of patient engagement, encouraging health information empowerment and improving transparency of healthcare costs. But let’s not forget about the challenges that this trend creates for providers, suppliers and payers. As health systems become more consumer-oriented, many foundational habits and processes need to change in order to compete on the basis of consumer-oriented service delivery.
Unfortunately, government and private payers are speeding the movement to consumerism by shifting more costs to consumers through high-deductible plans and large minimum coinsurance requirements. Fortunately, there is some synergy between the push to consumerism and current regulations: Both require better patient engagement. Here are four key ways to get there.
1 Create a better patient engagement strategy. Bolstering patient engagement is difficult. Most quick fixes involve remodeling the gift shop and improving the cafeteria. While these initiatives will help, they are insufficient. Customer service training has its limits, and simply labeling and calling every person on the premises a “guest” won’t make a lasting impact.
Patient engagement is necessary for our healthcare system. Many providers and payers understand that patient satisfaction is the corridor to better compliance. This compliance is essential for managing the health of a population suffering from chronic disease.
For a number of years, we have been pointing out that the brand of the provider organization is extremely important in creating and maintaining engagement, because it represents the promise made by the organization to patients and consumers. Prominent national brands such as the Cleveland Clinic have begun to syndicate their processes and co-brand with local providers. This movement is designed to improve patient engagement and financial viability.
Supply chain managers are beginning to explore the next phase of branded patient communications stemming from a strategic supplier relationship. Much like the “billboard effect” of having a proton center to drive brand value and patient volume, strategic alliances with major manufacturers can also be signals of excellence.
The imperative today is strategic thinking and engagement. Supply chain leaders must engage with their C-suite leaders, clinical leaders and other stakeholders to consider capabilities that are broader than commodity acquisition.
Many long-term contracts in place today get only industry press, which is unfortunate because opportunities for consumer engagement and brand building abound. For example, imaging centers frequently promote their acquisition and ready availability of the latest MRI and “low-dose” technology. When these centers also promote their affiliations with leading manufacturers offering the latest technologies, the messaging becomes even more powerful, specific and verifiable. That’s because motivated consumers can search not only the imaging center’s website, but also the manufacturer’s website to find evidence of higher quality and greater safety provided by the new technology.
2 Reduce variation and improve physician relationships. Physician preference and clinical judgment are important variables to consider when evaluating a change. Creating alignment in this area is a long-term initiative. If successful, reduced clinical practice variation will lead to a more predictable patient experience, allow for enhanced patient engagement and ultimately increase the likelihood of improved patient outcomes. Similarly, reduced care variation also improves quality and sometimes requires quality initiatives for support.
3 Make quality improvements. The frontier in quality improvement includes process variation reduction across the enterprise (intra-organizational) and the continuum of care (inter-organizational). Interestingly, one of the foundational aspects of reducing intra- and inter-organizational process variation is the use of a master patient index. Identifying who’s who and treating them correctly is a common deficit for most aspiring population health providers. Certainly, core measures are still important, but patient risk stratification will play a bigger role moving forward.
4 Focus on image. Delivering a branded patient experience can help create lasting brand equity with populations and stakeholders. To do this successfully, it’s important to focus on the entire service delivery episode, as well as display the organization’s brand along with other quality indicators. Clean and attractive uniforms, images on the walls that suggest healing and satisfaction, and indoor foliage can make a strong impact. However, the highest impact area to focus on is the doctor/patient interaction. Support staff should point out the doctor’s name, role and experience. Further, credentials should be displayed prominently. Happy and satisfied patients should be profiled in the facility bulletin and in reading materials provided to patients.
The role of strategic alliances also needs to be demonstrated within the entire care delivery episode. If the imaging equipment is part of a strategic alliance, the brand of that equipment as well as the reason for the selection can build consumer confidence and perceptions of quality even more. Finally, information about caregivers’ training and the caregiver-to-patient ratio should also be shared.
The Role of Supply Chain Managers
The imperative today is strategic thinking and engagement. Supply chain leaders must engage with their C-suite leaders, clinical leaders and other stakeholders to consider capabilities that are broader than commodity acquisition. Collaboration with these constituents allows the supply chain to assist with the chronic goal of achieving clinical integration. Further, HealthTrust provides an enviable portfolio of contracts and pricing to its members, and these offerings increase performance and facilitate the ability to focus on more strategic issues.
With suppliers, discuss the use of the facility’s brand and the manufacturer’s brand. There is value for a supplier to be able to claim utilization of its solutions within your facility; this value should be shared.
Discussions can also be expanded to consider the impact of a HealthTrust contract on the organization’s brand and how it can influence consumers. When supply chain managers partner with their GPO contacts to investigate best practices and access support resources, the value of membership supports the value of their brand.
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