Healthcare industry can grow more by becoming customer-centric with the help of CRM solutions and digital transformation

Gone are those days when healthcare organizations and clinicians had complete responsibility for making decisions about how their patients should be treated. Owing to the advancements made in technology and the healthcare reforms introduced, such as telemedicine and online consultations, people have become active participants in their own healthcare. Customer satisfaction and value-driven care are gaining ground. Yet, while other sectors of the economy have made huge strides in their customer service processes, the healthcare industry is still lagging behind. Several important opportunities are still being missed for creating customer-centered care.

Challenges involved in the healthcare industry

Customer-driven strategies have remained elusive in the healthcare sector. The task of making healthcare more customer-centric is ridden with its own set of challenges. Collecting health-related data from a patient still remains a mammoth task as the data is fragmented at many levels – stored on different computer systems, in paper files, with different hospitals and different insurance companies. Simultaneously, the collection of patient data conflicts with privacy-related concerns.

Educating and convincing consumers about the importance and relevance of sharing their data is another challenge as not many are aware or are confused or simply don’t know about the choices available to them. Also, there is a need to create such health care products that are heavily informed by customer analysis and in-depth understanding of what various customer segments would want with regard to mixing of pricing, services and products.

Customer-facing technology needs to be improved as not every service is readily available with the click of a button. Personalization is lacking at every step and customers are tired of being treated as every other patient who comes in. Every person has a unique medical need and so they want to receive individual advice, attention and communication on the basis of their personal requirement. Thus, personalization is more than just speaking a customer’s name thrice during a call – it is more about leveraging a large variety of data to know them individually and proactively fulfilling their specific health needs.

Making the healthcare industry customer-friendly

More than any industry, it’s the healthcare segment that has been drastically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a bid to help humankind navigate one of the worst events in its entire history, significant strides were made in medical care. With the growth in technology and the world moving indoors to stay safe from the virus, telemedicine arose to the occasion as a saviour for thousands.

Healthcare providers had to pivot in order to change how they manage, communicate with and treat their patients. Thanks to teleconsultations, doctors and physicians could attend to their patients virtually, especially for routine treatment or questions. This seismic shift will surely stick around even when the pandemic ends as customers will continue to prefer the convenience of interacting with their doctor from the comfort of their home.  And to meet the rising demand, healthcare companies will need to keep refining their telehealth capabilities and technology for a seamless experience.

E-prescription and medicine vending machines have also successfully been able to add a customer-centric dimension to healthcare services. E-prescriptions are computer-generated, electronically filed prescription forms transmitted from the caregiver to the pharmacy. These electronic prescriptions have eliminated the struggle of understanding physicians’ handwriting, which would result in the prescription of wrong medication. They make it easy to track medication history of the patient and carry details like dosage, route, strength and frequency of medicine intake.

Medicine vending machines have emerged as a cost and time-saving solution. For stable patients on medication for diagnosed illnesses, the prescription dispenser machine enables consumers to collect their prescriptions after several hours. This is suitable for busy individuals and families who can then avoid long lines at the traditional pharmacies.

Summing Up

Technology has revolutionised the healthcare ecosystem and the future of healthcare is customer-centric. In order to succeed, it’s necessary that healthcare companies and firms integrate customer experience in their overall strategy, making their patients the focus of every decision they make.

By RS Maan, Managing Director and Global Chief Revenue Officer, Codleo