Digital maturity is much more than a buzz term. To stay relevant in a world where, according to McKinsey & Company, “Customers believe they can get whatever they want, whenever they want, within minutes,” digital maturity is everything.
In competitive markets, including healthcare, this is particularly true. Disruptive startups with big backers are paving new paths for modern customers seeking convenience. To keep up, healthcare organizations must adopt a digital-first approach — and fast!
The Current State of Healthcare
“At first, people delayed medical care for fear of catching Covid. But as the pandemic caused staggering unemployment, medical care has become unaffordable for many.”
Healthcare journalist Reed Abelson paints this bleak picture in a recent New York Times article. She highlights the increasing strain on healthcare providers as patients delay treatment.
Yet, in the post-pandemic reality, there are many other causes for concern within the industry. Gartner even predicts that 63 percent of providers have faced disruptions due to reasons including:
- Internal organizational changes
- Cost pressures
- Regulation and compliance
- Funding shortages
- Shifting consumer demand
Their advice? “Accelerate transformation by embracing a digital-first strategy.”
Not only will such a solution combat the evolving issues within healthcare, but it will also enable industry veterans to keep up with disruptors, such as Amazon Care.
After all, healthcare organizations risk losing relevancy if they try to implement large-scale technology projects, which take years to embed. Delivering incremental improvements faster through innovation projects appears to be the best way forward.
As Gartner research suggests: “With all the changes in the healthcare industry, only fit organizations thrive — and fragile organizations get left behind.”
Build, Buy, or Partner
Healthcare organizations must decide to build, buy, or partner to ensure the fast success of digital health strategies.
For Rush University System for Health in Chicago, partnerships are key.
“When I look at Amazon, I think, ‘How can we partner with them and complement each other?’ For us to be a regional partner for one or several of these companies would be a terrific opportunity,” said Tatyana Popkova, Rush’s former chief strategy officer who is now at UCI Health, in the “Future of Consumer Expectations” report issued by The Healthcare Financial Management Association last fall.
Partnership-building is forward-thinking. The approach will help Rush offer patients a seamless retail experience — and enable the organization to focus on what it does best: care.
But many providers choose to build their own digital solutions, as it allows them to own as much of the customer experience as possible. Unfortunately, most “do it yourself” strategies are slow to implement. Overworked IT teams struggle to swiftly bring digital visions to life.
Of course, many organizations will try to increase their IT capacity. Yet, there is a severe talent shortage, alongside a lack of CX guidance. Without proper supervision, developers build digital journeys to fit their needs, not those of the customer.
However, speed must come with precision. IT teams require support to understand what the ideal digital experience looks like. Otherwise, journeys will create new frictions, which add to customer effort.
Such considerations are crucial as the industry approaches the crossroads where patients become empowered customers. No longer will patients accept the lack of transparency into costs, services, and the care they receive. Quick action is a must. Yet, digital journeys must not suffer as a result.
Achieving Speed and Effectiveness
If an organization wishes to build experiences themselves, cutting time-to-implement is crucial. Automation technologies can speed up CX transformation.
Take Airkit, for instance. The low-code digital automation tool enables anyone to design, build, and test new digital journeys with a few clicks of a mouse — after only two hours of training. How is that possible? The answer lies in Airkit’s state-of-the-art development studio, customizable templates, and pre-built integrations with CRM tools, such as Salesforce, Zendesk, and HubSpot.
Airkit gave CX Effect hands-on access to try the platform for ourselves. We created digital-first experiences and tested use cases in self-service, automated enrollment, and customer surveys. Read our review here: https://hubs.li/Q011Kb200
Our reviewer was impressed. “The pace, power and ease of the platform is real,” said Ben Edwards, CX Effect’s director of solutions architecture. “A self-service scheduling solution? Achieved. Digitizing forms? Done — in a matter of hours.”
For healthcare organizations, Airkit can digitize any touchpoint in the patient journey. Plus, the platform stays up to date on all security, compliance, and privacy certifications.
Ease of implementation, effectiveness and security translate to cost savings, improved care, and peace of mind for providers and patients alike.
And the speed of it all? Airkit definitely meets the urgency of the moment.
Read our full review here.
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Charlie Mitchell is an award-winning writer on customer experience.