The idea of employing a customer relationship management (CRM) system in a healthcare setting may come as a surprise to some, but it shouldn’t. Today, it’s more important than ever to use technology to build strong relationships with patients—to treat them as customers and complete human beings, rather than a collection of symptoms and billing codes. CRM helps realize this goal.
Understanding Healthcare CRM
Healthcare CRM systems are multi-faceted software applications that manage information about customers and sales prospects. In healthcare, CRM enables an organization to maintain the most up-to-date information about patients. With such data in hand, it is then possible to provide the medical equivalent of great customer support. When patients call, the person answering the phone knows who they are, based on their CRM records.
1) Efficient, effective healthcare administration
Healthcare administration involves a lot of digital “paperwork.” A CRM system offers a relatively easy way to automate many paperwork daily tasks, such as filling out forms and complying with regulations. The CRM can also be the vehicle for scheduling appointment and handling notes from doctors and nurses.
Most CRMs include a task management module that enables a supervisor to track how others are performing their assigned work. These capabilities lead to greater efficiency in handling healthcare administration. They have the added potential benefit of making the interactions with the patient more personalized.
2) Conduct marketing outreach
The business of healthcare increasingly involves marketing outreach. Patients have choices today, and they often exercise their right to choose providers based on their responses to marketing initiatives. CRM can help greatly with this process. CRM gives healthcare marketers knowledge about who patients are and what they might be looking for in a healthcare provider relationship. A healthcare CRM enables marketers to filter contacts to develop a targeted list of patients or prospective patients who are most likely to engage with the organization for new services.
3) Amplifying the impact of existing software
Healthcare CRM integrates with other systems, such Electronic Health Records (EHR) solutions. Working together, CRM can amplify the impact of EHR and other applications. The synergy makes it possible to be more targeted in marketing outreach, for example. Or, connections between EHR and CRM gives staff insights into the patient’s situation in real time when they deal with questions over the phone, and so forth.
4) Expanding across multiple platforms
CRM is typically available on multiple platforms, including mobile devices. Its users are not tied down to a particular device or location. They can engage with patients with smartphones and tablets as well as with PCs. This capability also enables the organization to save time and be more productive with a self-service patient portal for use with new patient check in and other interactions.
5) The ability to generate reports and dashboards
A healthcare CRM solution stores patient data that can be used for reporting and data visualization dashboards. Use cases will vary widely by organization, but CRM users can leverage these capabilities to track metrics like response rates to marketing campaigns and track patient retention.
Additionally, patients don’t have to be the focus on a healthcare CRM. The technology works well with healthcare business workflows like physician recruiting. Employee relationships and payer partnerships can also benefit from CRM, as do programs like community outreach and patient wellness.
We have worked with many healthcare organizations on the design and implementation of healthcare CRM. To learn more about what CRM can do for your healthcare business, contact us for a demo and free consultation.
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