From the October 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
The return on engagement
With patient acquisition and retention influencing the revenue of health care systems, it is imperative to have a strategy in place for engaging patients online and influencing their decision-making. In order to stay ahead of your competition, consider a return on engagement strategy as a return on investment.
Providence Health & Services, the fourth-largest, not-for-profit health system in the U. S. (operating 34 hospitals, 600 physician clinics, 22 long-term care facilities, 19 hospices and 693 supportive housing units), found that publishing ratings and comments to their physician profile pages increased online engagement by 29 percent. Similarly, Signature Medical Group, the largest independent physician-owned multi-specialty group in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas, increased overall patient experience scores by 20 percent through effective digital patient feedback management.
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Another way to improve the overall ROI of a health care system, of any size, is to drive online patient traffic to a provider’s site through SEO. Online rating and review sites typically compete for the top listings in a Google search. However, health care organizations can turn this in their favor by publishing a high volume of fresh, verified online patient ratings and testimonials to their provider profile pages. Google values these factors, and health care organizations have the solution. They can leverage a wealth of patient experience survey data from CG-CAHPS to create online ratings and comments for their provider web pages. With ongoing physician-patient online activity and content, health care providers will further increase their brand reputation and awareness online.
Health care facilities should consider establishing a process for monitoring and responding to patient feedback because health care consumerism is only expected to increase in the coming years. Effective online reputation management can preserve and enhance health care providers’ and organizations’ brands, provide transparency and clarity for consumers when deciding on a health care provider and uncover areas where a health care organization can improve the patient experience. When put into practice, health care reputation management will become a catalyst for the overall success of hospital systems.
About the author: Andrew Rainey is the executive vice president, strategy and corporate development at Binary Fountain.Back to HCB News
