A digital experience that saves lives

Blog
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CX healthcare

When talking about outstanding digital experiences, we often think of Spotify putting together the perfect playlist based on your mood. Or Netflix, for example, which knows almost better which new series will get you into a binge-watching mood. Bol.com should certainly not be left out of that list either, thanks to their well-thought-out search, order, pay, buy, and even after-sales experience.

When talking about outstanding digital experiences, you probably don't spontaneously think of your last hospital visit. And that's a shame. Because in healthcare, frictionless digital experiences can literally save lives. And that's maybe a bit more important than the commercial interest of big tech or retail players, or not?

In this blog, I take you through exactly how we can then save those lives:

  1. Who benefits from frictionless digital experiences in healthcare?
  2. The advantages of frictionless digital experiences in healthcare
  3. A Digital Experience Platform, what is that?
  4. How to get started on a seamless digital experience for your patients?
  5. How do you calculate ROI from your digital experiences?

1. Who benefits from frictionless digital experiences in healthcare?

Patients and those in need of care

Let me demonstrate with a practical example. We follow patient Mirthe's journey from diagnosis to recovery. In doing so, we illustrate how an optimal digital experience adds value to her story.

Mirthe

1. The first suspicion

Mirthe goes for her annual checkup to her gynecologist. Something suspicious is noticed, and Mirthe is referred to a specialist. In her mailbox, Mirthe - with her permission - immediately receives an e-mail with further info about the next steps: a profile of the specialist, a button for an appointment, a step-by-step plan....

Mirthe clicks a button in the e-mail and goes to the website. From this moment, the hospital can personalize her online visit based on first-party cookies. Mirthe is stored in a segment relevant to her profile: pages are personalized, she is shown info about her specialist...

2. Hospital appointment

In the waiting room, there are information screens. These include info about Mirthe's specialist that she already saw in the mail and online.

Mirthe receives the unfortunate news that early-stage breast cancer has been diagnosed. She immediately gets access to the app Ziekenhuis@home with all the personal information about Mirthe's care trajectory. She also finds a lot of information in this app.

Through the "create once, publish anywhere" principle, Mirthe reads the same consistent information on the website, in the app, and on screens in the hospital. She gets a follow-up email with the info she needs at that moment.

3. The hospitalization and later

During her hospitalization, Mirthe is using the life@hospital app. This app guides her through her stay and allows her to order food, borrow things.... 

When Mirthe is back home, she receives a follow-up email with the aftercare steps so she can seamlessly continue her treatment at home. 

The emails for her follow-up appointments? She gets those automatically in her inbox, so she never skips a checkup.

All other stakeholders in hospitals or care centers

It is immediately clear from the above example that patients and those around them benefit greatly from an optimal digital experience. And it doesn't stop there. Seamless digital experiences have a positive impact on your entire business. That is, if you get it right!

Medical staff
  • Receptionists receive fewer inbound phone calls because their questions are answered online, and self-service via the portal is available. Think about appointments, status requests, or general information requests.
  • Medical staff experiences less stress. They receive fewer direct questions from patients because they are better informed in advance. That way there is more time for effective care.
  • The communications department of the hospital or care center now manages all information centrally and through user-friendly templates. This ensures a consistent layout, branding, and look and feel across all channels: website, information screens, applications...) In addition, the marketing teams get better insights into search and reading behavior so they can set the right priorities in terms of content creation.
  • Researchers can better collaborate online and share information.
  • IT teams can now handle sensitive data with proper care. Robust online platforms help with this and allow this data to remain in their own hands.
  • HR, through good employer branding, provides a differentiating factor in "competition" with other hospitals or healthcare centers. In addition, digital recruiting is easier by linking to an ATS system.
  • Overall, an optimal employer experience can contribute to a better working atmosphere across all departments. Large organizations such as hospitals often benefit from a solid intranet with the right information and necessary tools such as work schedules, organizational charts, newsletters....
  • We could easily go on and on. Just think suppliers, the press, world-wide research organizations... A mass of opportunities to improve the works of a healthcare organization by working on a digital experience platform.

2. The advantages of a frictionless digital experience in healthcare

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Convenience

Every stakeholder finds answers to their basic questions quickly, easily, and at any time, 24/7. In addition, contacting them digitally for more specific questions is also more accessible: chat, website, email, phone....

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Peace of mind

Proactive information creates the right expectations, ensures peace of mind, and relieves stress. Both patients and loved ones experience as little stress as possible this way.

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Discretion

Seeking help online is often more accessible and discreet. (Think cancer, addictions...) Patients' medical data should also be treated with care and discretion.

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Connection

Frictionless digital experiences provide a better connection to the care center and staff. A comprehensive online platform also pulls care online through testimonials, communities... Staff finds connection through a convenient intranet.

3. A Digital Experience Platform, what is that?

Easily managing digital experiences is typically done with a DXP, a Digital Experience Platform. Such a platform fills in a lot of challenges and gives you the tools to:

  • centrally manage and distribute your content across your various channels,
  • consistently follow your brand guidelines everywhere and make the necessary templates available,
  • put your patient or caregiver at the center and build and automate journeys around him or her across channels,
  • securely integrate with your digital ecosystem such as reception, calendar and appointment management, CRM, patient data... all while respecting privacy and GDPR,
  • gain relevant insights around digital journeys and online behavior of your various stakeholders,
  • provide you with the right tools to help your communications, online and IT teams work together more efficiently.

How to start creating frictionless digital experience for your patients?

Setting up a DXP completely and thoughtfully is not something you do quickly in 1-2-3. Work step by step, set the right priorities, and make appropriate decisions from the start.

  1. Start by drawing up a digital experience strategy and roadmap.
  2. Use tools that are available to get you started.
    1. Our Strategic Scoping Canvas can be a great guide here.
    2. Are you writing out an RFP? Then our RFP guide will probably save you a lot of time.
  3. Need additional expertise? Then our strategists, enterprise architects, UX designers and developers will be happy to help.
  4. Looking for inspiration? Then the cases below offer fresh ideas:

How to calculate the ROI of your digital experiences?

At Dropsolid, we believe digital experiences have tremendous value to healthcare instances and can even save lives. Of course, there is an investment in return. But how exactly do you calculate that in hard numbers? Our team developed an ROI calculator that calculates the value of your digital investment in less than 10 minutes.