Leaders at patient care organizations across the country are looking for ways forward when it comes to patient experience. And it’s a topic that’s generating a lot of excitement across the U.S. healthcare system, even though there are no single solutions to optimize patient experience.
One leader who has given a lot of thought to the opportunities and challenges involved is Alex Nason, chief innovation officer at Frederick Health, a 270-bed, single-hospital independent health system based in Frederick, Maryland. Nason recently spoke with Innovation in health care Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland talks about the current landscape and the path(s) ahead. Below are excerpts from his recent interview.
How are you thinking about patient experience, broadly and strategically, right now?
As an independent, stand-alone health system, surrounded by academic health systems in Maryland, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, we are focused on the patient experience, to remind them that we have a great team here in the community, and we are working on innovative ways to do that, whether it’s online scheduling, an active patient portal, or alerts through kiosks on cell phones; we are trying to reach patients where they are. And we actually have a consumer committee, different from a patient access committee, as we move forward.
I know one of your first steps was kiosk check-in, right? In some areas, patients can go and check-in at kiosks and get updates on their smartphones, rather than spending a lot of time sitting in waiting rooms, right?
Yes, that’s correct: When you come to a walk-in service, like in the lab, you enter your first name, last name, and cell phone number and you get updates on your phone. This came about in the wake of COVID, when people wanted to social distance and wait in their cars. And there are still a lot of people who want to avoid social spaces. We have this up and running in four, soon to be five, labs. They’re walk-in environments. It’s a more dynamic queuing system. Five labs with a walk-in experience. It’s not a full check-in tool, you can’t pay your copay.
What would be your flagship project in terms of mobility?
Healthcare innovation and marketing often combine and intersect all the time. Here at Frederick Health, my innovation team works closely with our marketing team. When I think about the mobile experience, I would love to have a purpose-built mobile app that would allow a person to not only have a full web experience in the mobile environment, but also real interactivity in that mobile space. Everything from searching for a doctor to scheduling an appointment – here we are Meditech, we would love to create a mobile experience on a device that could really replace the need to sit in front of a computer.
What are the biggest challenges in your work right now and how are you and your team overcoming them?
The biggest challenge right now is budget. In particular, a lot of technology is moving to the cloud, so these things are operational costs rather than capital costs, and operational costs are more challenging. So budget is a challenge.
What lessons are you and your colleagues learning about innovation in difficult financial times?
I would say two things: first, keep innovating. As we come out of these difficult times, organizations that have focused on innovative ways of doing things will be better positioned to launch. And second, we are only using a small portion of what is possible with the technological solutions that we already have. So I think those are two things I would like to pass on as advice: keep going, keep being creative.
How do you see innovation in population health management and care management in the future?
We’re just starting to figure out how to better reach patients where they are. How do we help support population health initiatives, whether it’s making sure they get mammograms or colonoscopies? How do we embrace technologies to close the gap? And whether it’s text or email reminders, or creating clinical campaigns for patients, it’s no longer enough to send a letter to a patient to schedule their annual wellness visit. So we’re trying to use technology and innovation to close those gaps, responsibly. We have those HIPAA requirements that impact what we can do, but they’re huge opportunities for us.
Is there anything you would like to add?
I think healthcare is different, but patients are looking for that consumer experience. How we find that balance between their experiences with other industries, like banking and retail and interacting with their veterinarian, and their experiences in healthcare is something that we, the innovators, are trying to achieve. We have checks and balances that other industries don’t have, but we need to continue to work to meet the patient where they are and create an experience that is similar to online shopping and other experiences.
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