Dolly Dholakia

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, transformative interaction has become critical. Hospitals and clinics simplified their relationships for optimizing patient care. While other sectors focused more on consumer service to stand distinctive in the market, the healthcare sector was long focused on only improved patient outcomes, diagnostics, and organizational standards. But since the pandemic, there has been a marked change in providing superior healthcare engagement. The paradigmatic shift focuses on patients’ concerns, desires, perceptions, and protection. Let’s take a look at what has changed in healthcare due to this pandemic.

Pre-care

65 percent of the customer suggests that their experience on the hospital website for scheduling the appointment, gaining details, and others were equivalent to the actual care. 80 percent of surveyed patients use online reviews as a major deciding factor. Around 50 percent of the patients in a study assured that they are willing to change their insurance provider to select a healthcare provider with better reviews.

Speed

The patients expect improved experience, comfort, and a sense of transparency along with a closed-loop real-time approach. They want healthcare providers to provide fast service. Patients often expect care providers to use patient interaction technologies to generate a disruptive impact. Automated tools like customer relationship management (CRM) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) create accountability, pace, and convenience. They also improve the connectivity and accuracy of patient reviews. For example, using deep learning and AI, a healthcare provider can interpret a CAT scan faster than humans by 150 times.

Virtual care

Do you know that the latest Apple Watch has biosensors to detect changes in health? The coronavirus triggered a 70 percent cancellation of treatments due to fear of catching the virus or other limitations due to lockdown. According to an Accenture survey on 2700 patients, the findings support virtual treatment. 60 percent of the surveyed patients are preparing to get care from home. Thus, if a healthcare provider cannot provide virtual treatment, there is a risk of losing 60 percent of their client base.

Comprehensive Demand

The patients’ preferences and definitions of “hospital experience” are not the same as a few years ago. The tech-savvy generation has easy access to Wi-Fi and mobile devices. They are well aware of healthcare facilities and know all about illnesses, diagnoses, and therapies. They expect impactful engagements with the nurses and physicians. They also demand outstanding experiences with both out-patient and in-patient care. A patient will compare a healthcare facility for a particular disease between two or more hospitals before even walking into one. Thus, the only way to remain afloat is by providing the best diagnosis, treatment, care, and better experience for the patient.

To sum up, improving patient quality has become a healthcare priority. Business demands and medical knowledge caused an inevitable change. Modern patients like being handled like clients. They expect personalized and technologically-advanced healthcare. However, the right balance between human and computer use is also important. Total automation is not the secret to patient satisfaction. Never ignore patient input and always provide accurate, timely, and efficient treatment.