A few posts back we mentioned that Engage’s Healtcare Technology Practice had some white papers up on the TAG Health Society Website. We hope you’ve had a chance to go take a look, and if not, then they’re avialble here and here with summaries on our blog here.
We’re hoping to continue the conversation on these papers with a few blog posts offering some more informal thoughts and analysis, and the chance for readers to leave their own thoughts in the comments section. Today we’ll be looking at the area of partner and patient self service, as covered in this whitepaper. The below extends on some of the ideas in the paper, so it’s not a bad idea to read it first. Still the post stands on it’s own as well, so it’s really your choice.
Self Service Defined
Self service is basically any time a task that a provider usually takes on is exported to one of their patients or partners, with no additional costs to the provider. It’s the difference between patient’s using an automated online sign up page, and patients interacting with an employee who does manaul scheduling. Sometimes self service means the other party actually ends up doing extra work and sometimes it means that certain steps are automated, or eliminated all together.
If done correctly, self service is one of those things that generates an immediate ROI. Your own resources are freed up to concentrate on other tasks. This is especially important in areas where healthcare specialists are crunched for time. Doctors office’s and minute clinics are both great examples of these. Any information that a patient can submit via self service online is one more piece of information the doctor does not have to spend time collecting himself. More time, means more quality care.
Related posts:
