Prisma Health, the largest nonprofit healthcare provider in South Carolina, says integrating digital patient communications has reduced no-shows by $4 million within the first two years.
This achievement, accomplished with the help of patient engagement company Artera, is estimated to result in a total cost savings of $8 million.
“We estimate that every 1% reduction in no-shows equates to approximately $1 million in savings across our organization,” said Rich Rogers, the health system’s senior vice president and chief information officer.
He told Healthcare IT news that since launch, the platform has reduced missed appointments “consistently by approximately 4% or more over the course of nearly two years.”
“Through our integrated partnership with Artera, we have implemented a robust patient communication workflow to help patients prepare for their appointment, remind them of important details related to their appointment and more,” Rogers explains.
“As a result, we are seeing more and more patients showing up for their appointments.”
Moving calls to text messages increases efficiency
The software-as-a-service platform integrates with Prisma’s tech stack, electronic health records and other systems to unify digital patient communications across the selected channel – SMS, email and IVR – in 109 languages.
With this, the healthcare system converted more than 2,300 incoming phone calls to asynchronous text conversations within the first four months of implementation.
Prisma said that on average, 33% of patients wait less than a minute to get their question answered via the call-to-text conversation. The call-to-text function can ensure that patients no longer have to wait on hold, but can text directly to an employee.
The system helped Prisma maintain efficiency, eliminating more than 1,000 overdue specialty referrals in less than two weeks and provides analytics on staff efficiency and patient engagement.
New app streamlines patient experience
On Tuesday, Prisma announced it is also integrating Gozio Health’s location-aware mobile engagement communications tools into a patient-facing app called Prisma Health Go to improve patient access and reduce patient fatigue with consolidated messaging.
“Bringing together these two leading HIT providers has helped orchestrate a streamlined patient experience, providing our patients with access to quality care in the most efficient, non-disruptive manner,” said Rogers.
During the first implementation in August, the number of app downloads increased from 40 to 400 per day, with more than 25,400 new installations of the application.
With the integration, when a patient confirms their appointment via a text message reminder, they will be offered a link to download the new app.
Patients can initiate navigation from their home via parking and signage to the point of care on the Prisma Health campus. The app reduces the number of calls to Prisma employees asking for directions and takes away the added stress of trying to find a new office for the first time.
It can also ensure that more patients arrive on time for their appointments.
“For many patients, going to the doctor is stressful enough. This integration reduces the additional stress patients may experience when visiting a doctor’s office for the first time,” said Robin Gadd-Lane, digital health and transformation systems manager at Prisma Health . a statement.
With a large campus — there are 18 acute-care and specialty hospitals in a service area of 21 counties and counting, according to the health system’s website — patients often called doctors’ offices to ask for directions.
“We have heard firsthand from our patients that this has improved their experience by helping them navigate to the right location in time, and our staff are overjoyed with the reduction in call volume they have seen.”
Other features include the ability to save the appointment to a mobile phone’s calendar, including a built-in navigation link that takes you from home to the office.
There is also a card-based ‘find care’ feature for many facilities, including wait times for urgent care and the ability to book appointments.
While the app’s download speed is, as expected, declining slightly to around 300 on average per day, Rogers says Prisma is still seeing growth, with an average of 5,000 new users per month.
“What’s really interesting is that we’re seeing people come back to the app more than once, indicating that they’re finding real value in it,” he noted.
“Since the launch of the link, the percentage of patients using the app more than once has increased to 71%.”
But it’s not just about “the dollars and cents,” Rogers said.
“It’s about improving care for our patients. We are more deeply connected to our patients as a result of the progress we have made with our technology innovations, and that improves the patient experience and access to care.”
Andrea Fox is editor-in-chief of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.