The benefits of investing in patient journey management

Patient journey management can remove major blocks and frustrations facing patients and staff alike, so integrating is understandably considered a priority by many. Read on to discover the hurdles you’ll have to overcome, and the benefits you’ll get from doing so.

For healthcare, demands on workers and facilities are often exceptionally high, and patience for delays are often low. To ease the pressure, it’s only right that people have all the tools they can get to help make the experience better for everyone. In our recent survey of over 600 healthcare and public services decision makers across the globe, 61% of people surveyed believed patients are complaining more about waiting or queuing than just a year ago, while 71% believe they are busier than a year ago. It’s no surprise then, that 80% of the people we surveyed would be interested in seeing what’s possible through patient journey management.

Reduced costs

36% of those we surveyed believe spending cuts are the biggest challenge facing their organization. Especially in national healthcare centers, this is a keenly felt concern. The need to do more with less is always apparent. So, spending money on a system that won’t directly contribute to patient health often seems like a low priority, but there’s more to journey management tech than that.

Effective journey management solutions make it easier for a patient to book in, get to their appointment and get home again. It also makes it easier for a healthcare professional to see what’s coming up and where demand lies that day, so they can plan ahead. Essentially, it helps patients to see who they need to see, faster. That means more patients, and a better ROI and satisfaction rate.

Limited resources

Coming hand-in-hand with cost restraints are resource limits. There’s only so many staff, supplies and space available to healthcare organizations, so ensuring it’s well-distributed is an enormous priority. A journey management solution can support by freeing up time for reception staff, so they can concentrate on helping those who need it, while patients comfortable checking themselves in are free to do so. And because everything links together, senior staff can see exactly where demand is, in real time, and send staff to support accordingly. The software can even use past data to identify trends, so healthcare professionals can better predict demands for the future.

Tech fears

Routines are hard to break once they’re comfortable and ingrained. That’s why it’s sometimes difficult to introduce new solutions, as staff may be reluctant or even fearful of them, and instead would prefer to do things the same way they’ve always done. What’s more, disruption during implementation can scare off some people who would benefit from the introduction; in fact, 36% of people we surveyed felt that this disruption is a major barrier to implementation. With the proper training and planning, it needn’t be. Modern solutions are designed to be naturally intuitive and not obtrusive, so staff and patients can get comfortable quickly. It removes the hardship of the change and leads to potentially superior results.

Finding the right option

The right partner will not just provide the support you need to overcome these barriers, they’ll also do a lot of the work on your behalf. That’s why it’s vital to work with a partner that can provide expert consultation and scalable solutions that are ready to implement, easy to use and deliver immediate results.

Qmatic offer all of the expertise mentioned above, and more. Our Healthcare Global Trends report is packed full of insight that will help you get more value from your resources, without adding to personal workloads – giving you the power to dramatically improve your citizens’ experiences. Download it for free here.