Understanding the Importance of Reputation Management Tools in Telehealth

In the healthcare industry, the transition from in-person visits to telehealth appointments has been largely successful. By the end of 2020, Forrester Research reported that virtual healthcare interactions were on course to hit the 1 billion mark. A recent Deloitte consumer survey also found that about 80% of patients that tried telehealth reported high levels of satisfaction, whereas about 60% of consumers are willing to try the service.

A similar study found that 60% of respondents approve of the improvements in healthcare technology and more than 80% reported they’d continue to use telemedicine services after the pandemic. However, the surge in adoption of virtual healthcare services is creating some unique patient engagement challenges for healthcare providers. Read on to learn why it’s important to improve patient engagement in telehealth consultations and how RepuGen can help with that.

An Overview of Patient Engagement

According to Deloitte, consumer engagement in healthcare refers to the actions consumers take to become more proactively involved and better informed in the behaviors and decisions that affect their health, health care, and health insurance coverage. Examples include:

• Making a deliberate effort to monitor and improve health
• Staying informed of health concerns and the available treatment options
• Paying attention to quality and cost when choosing treatments, plans, and providers
• Communicating honest health information with doctors
• Asking for doctors’ input when making treatment decisions
• Sticking to the recommended treatment plans

Benefits of Improving Patient Engagement in Healthcare

Patient engagement can potentially lead to a myriad benefits, including healthier behaviors, better health outcomes, lower overall health costs, and effective and more satisfying healthcare experiences. Various studies have shown that higher levels of consumer engagement in healthcare typically lead to:

• Greater adoption of preventive care
• Less obesity and smoking
• Less delay in seeking healthcare services
• Greater awareness of treatment protocols
• Better clinical indicators such as depression, cholesterol levels, and triglycerides
• Lower hospitalization rates, including readmission rates
• Lower predicted medical costs overall
• Better doctor-patient relationships (Though last but the most crucial one for healthcare providers)

Identifying Potential Candidates

To determine how involved a patient is in their own health, many healthcare professionals use the Patient Activation Measure (PAM). Introduced in 2004, PAM is a patient-facing survey that covers six different patient characteristics and 22 items, each of which makes up the 100-point-scale. Such surveys are useful because they allow providers to create better and more effective patient engagement strategies. For instance, simpler engagement strategies can resonate with low-activation patients and turn them into long-term customers. This is where RepuGen comes in handy as you can send a patient feedback survey as soon as the telemedicine consultation is over to see how satisfied your patients are and where you need to improve.

Leveraging Healthcare Reputation Management Tools

As patients are vital to the healthcare industry, providers need to continue effectively engaging with their patients with telemedicine visits. Telemedicine consultations should leverage proven outreach techniques and tools to foster meaningful patient engagement. For example, if you notice that some of your patients are unhappy with your services, you can use healthcare reputation management tools like RepuGen to understand your patients’ concerns and sentiments. Then you can reach out to your patients to address their concerns and improve patient retention.

RepuGen’s telemedicine satisfaction insights will help grow your loyal patient base and encourage prospective patients to choose your practice by increasing positive online reviews and strengthening your online reputation. Additionally, you can use RepuGen to:

• Enhance patient satisfaction
• Generate more revenue
• Manage online listings
• Recover unhappy patients
• Improve communication
• Market your practice
• Acquire more patients

Strategies for Increasing Consumer Engagement in Healthcare

Some strategies you can use to increase patient engagement in your telehealth or telemedicine consultations include:

• Allowing patients to access their medical records and test results online
• Allowing patients to contact you via secure email and text message
• Ensuring your consultancy is mobile accessible
• Offering virtual healthcare visits

Patient engagement is key in the healthcare space, especially in telemedicine. This is where healthcare reputation management tools, such as RepuGen, really shine. RepuGen not only facilitates the patients in sharing their experiences but also performs a sentiment analysis to provide a detailed insight into patients' emotions during their visits. This kind of detailed understanding helps you in identifying your areas of improvement to build your patient relationships.

Related Posts

1.  Understanding Patient Needs to Improve Engagement and Satisfaction
2.  How Healthcare Reputation Management Helps Patients
3.  How To Stay Engaged With Your Patients, Especially During A Health Crisis