Use Technology to Increase Patient Access: 6 Strategies for Healthcare Organizations

November 14, 2024

A person’s ability to access healthcare depends on many factors. It involves an individual’s financial resources, insurance coverage, transportation, the healthcare providers and specialists in their geographic area, work schedules, and so much more—many of which are outside the healthcare providers’ control. 

But it also depends on factors within healthcare providers’ control: how easy it is to schedule an appointment, receive services, remember follow-ups, and pay for services received. When providers invest in technology and build the right workflow, they can increase patient access to care. 

What is patient access to healthcare?

Patient access refers to how easy it is to obtain healthcare services using the provider’s technology and processes. High-quality patient access means people can not only visit their provider in a clinical setting, but also schedule appointments, access medical records, get telehealth services, and communicate with their providers with ease.

Patient access includes questions like:

  • How close is the nearest hospital, general practitioner, or specialist to the patient?
  • Can the patient access virtual care via phone or video chat?
  • Does the patient have reliable, affordable transportation?
  • Is it easy to schedule or reschedule an appointment?
  • Does the provider send appointment reminders?
  • How can the patient communicate with the provider between visits?
  • How does the patient obtain their medical records or test results?
  • Are medical bills easy to find, even from a mobile device? 
  • Does the provider offer convenient payment methods?

Organizations that make it easy for people to access care are more efficient (internally) and more effective (clinically).

PATIENTS who can easily access health services are more informed and involved in their care, which leads to better health outcomes.

Patients with a high degree of access are more likely to schedule appointments, follow-up visits, and lab tests. They are also more likely to take advantage of preventative care like blood pressure screenings and yearly physicals. Digital check-ins mean more accurate patient data, which speeds up billing and insurance decisions.

MEDICAL PROVIDERS who make it easy for people to access care are more clinically effective and operationally efficient.

They have better communication with patients, which makes it easier to monitor, diagnose, and treat their conditions, even remotely. Self-service scheduling and online payment portals reduce the administrative work placed on healthcare workers. With fewer no-shows, healthcare organizations have higher staff utilization and more stable revenue.

The role of healthcare technology in patient access

The market for global health services continues to grow at a rapid pace. Estimates say the market will top $20 trillion by 2030—and home healthcare alone will reach nearly $670 billion. 

At the same time, a labor shortage puts pressure on healthcare operations. A GE study estimates 42% of clinicians are actively considering leaving the industry, and there is a projected shortage of 68,000 primary care physicians and 380,000 registered nurses in the U.S. through 2036.

With growing demand and potential workforce shortages, healthcare organizations need strategies to improve patient access and operational efficiency. This is where advances in healthcare technology help make up the difference: recurring task automation, real-time dashboards, healthcare-specific AI models, and much more.

On the patient side, patient access technology makes it easier to:

  • Find a qualified provider
  • Schedule, reschedule, or cancel an appointment
  • Communicate with healthcare providers
  • Obtain medical records
  • View, understand, and pay bills

On the provider side, patient access tools help:

  • Complete patient registration 
  • Verify patient details for billing and insurance purposes
  • Verify coverage and pre-authorizations
  • Reduce call volume related to appointment scheduling
  • Reduce appointment no-shows

Strategies to increase patient access to healthcare

Here are six strategies for healthcare providers to increase patient access using technology:

 

Offer telehealth, home health, and mobile health services

One of the best ways to increase patient access is to meet people where they are. Providers can make this happen with home health, telehealth, and mobile health services supported by patient care technology.

Home healthcare involves services delivered at a patient’s home or in other healthcare settings, like assisted living facilities or hospitals. Home health is a well-established practice—its history goes back hundreds of years as a practical and family-oriented solution for those with chronic illnesses, disabilities, limited mobility, or in end-of-life care. By offering (and optimizing) health at home services, providers can significantly increase patient access to healthcare.

Telehealth includes audio-video visits, virtual consultations, secure image sharing, phone calls, and meetings with clinicians. Telehealth technology helps overcome the barriers to healthcare created by weather, transportation issues, and physical distance between patient and provider. Providers can also use telehealth tools for inter-professional internet consultations.

Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a type of telehealth technology that allows medical providers to monitor patients’ vital signs and track their progress using wearable devices and at-home medical technology. Providers can use RPM to track glucose and oxygen levels, monitor heart rate, detect falls, and more. With this information, providers have useful real-world data about the patient’s condition, and they can educate and support the patient remotely.

Mobile health services are delivered offsite, but not at a fixed clinical location or the patient’s home. For example, consider a weeklong dental clinic at a local community center, a driver who transports samples from clinical settings to nearby labs, or a physical therapist on call for local sports teams. These mobile services bring healthcare to people and places that otherwise might not be able to access it.

As the digital transformation of healthcare progresses, healthcare institutions can explore new ways to reach patients where they are.

RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES: 
Telehealth technology, remote monitoring, workforce management software

Offer patient navigation services to overcome common barriers

Some people avoid healthcare services because they can’t afford out-of-pocket costs. In some cases, potential patients can’t find (or afford) childcare or transportation for the appointment time. Other people may need help scheduling an appointment, or they may need translation services to communicate with their provider’s office.

In some regions and situations, these factors prevent people from seeking healthcare altogether—leading minor conditions to become serious and serious conditions to become critical. More commonly, providers are turning to health navigation services to help overcome these barriers.

Patient navigation is the practice of helping people get the healthcare information, resources, and services they need. Patient navigators—who can be community health workers, social workers, or other roles—work with patients to address their individual situations. These patient services have been shown to help increase screening rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer among historically disadvantaged populations and people with lower incomes.

The point of care is shifting. Not so long ago, healthcare took place mostly in the standard settings of hospitals and medical clinics. Now, more and more providers are opening satellite clinics, splitting their time between different office locations, embracing telehealth or even conducting home visits, a reprise of the old physician house calls that were popular many decades ago.
Trends in the Shifting Point of Care
www.skedulo.com/resources/trends-in-the-shifting-point-of-care
RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES: 
EHR/EMR/PM, scheduling system, translation services

Improve patient scheduling to increase appointment volume and decrease no-shows

Better patient scheduling means more accurate appointment times, reduced wait times for patients, less staff time spent on scheduling tasks, and higher appointment volume. The right scheduling system also means fewer non-medical tasks—like rescheduling appointments—fall to medical personnel. 

With smart scheduling, healthcare providers can fit in more appointments and make the most of each one. Scheduling software uses historical data to accurately predict visit length, space appointments appropriately, and match the right healthcare provider to the patient. With a high-quality scheduling system, organizations can use seasonal trends and operational data to proactively identify understaffing or overstaffing issues. 

For mobile workers, like home healthcare workers and medical device representatives, scheduling software factors in travel time and provides the best real-time route to workers on the road. With GPS tracking, managers, dispatchers, and even patients can get providers’ precise arrival times. These tools means healthcare workers spend less time on basic tasks, like communicating their status updates, and more time with patients. 

For maximum efficiency, start with these scheduling fundamentals:

  • Securely capture and store relevant patient data
  • Maintain a patient waiting list for real-time additions
  • Offer patient self-scheduling (and rescheduling)
  • Implement wave scheduling and modified wave scheduling
  • Implement clustering scheduling
  • Use automated scheduling and automated appointment reminders

This helps create optimal schedules that balance workers’ availability, patients’ needs, and organizational resources.

RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES: 
Scheduling software, mobile workforce management software, communication tools

Streamline the patient flow to increase onsite capacity

As discussed, patient access means (a) someone’s ability to visit a healthcare facility and receive services, (b) someone’s ability to access remote or mobile healthcare services, and (c) the process or staff handling the initial interaction, e.g. the patient access system. Healthcare providers must build a thoughtful patient flow—while tracking records from multiple healthcare settings, including third-party labs and imaging sites—to ensure patients get the care they requested. 

Facilities

Optimize the literal patient journey through the facility. Starting with registration, ensure the patient moves through the building in a way that is logical, comfortable, and accessible. Provide a facility map (even digitally) for those who would like one. This is most important for large clinical settings, like multi-provider complexes and hospital emergency departments.

Telehealth, remote, or mobile services

Ensure the organization’s website, app, and patient portal are user-friendly. Make it easy to access key functions, like scheduling an appointment, sending a message, or checking in for an upcoming appointment. Use automated reminders for upcoming visits or overdue tests. Use GPS tracking to keep patients informed about home healthcare workers’ progress. Use patient communication tools to complement the digital journey; for example, send a text reminder to a patient X days before their next appointment with a link to start their pre-registration in the patient portal.

Patient intake and registration

Optimize the new patient scheduling and registration processes to reduce patient information errors—a common source of claim denials. Verify patient details, confirm contact information, and collect copayments during the intake and registration process for maximum efficiency.

RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES: 
AI and data visualizations, finance software, scheduling system, collaboration tools

Make it easier to book, remember, and pay for appointments

Make sure it is easy to book an appointment by providing tools patients can use to request an appointment, request a callback, or schedule an appointment directly. When new patients can schedule a consultation online, they are more likely to follow through on their intent to book an appointment. The ability to reschedule or cancel appointments online makes patients more willing to communicate when things change—greatly reducing unexpected no-shows. 

Help patients remember upcoming appointments with automated appointment reminders sent via their preferred communication method: email, text, phone call, push notification, etc. These tools reduce no-shows and improve the use of staff time—and patients like them, too. A 2023 report found: 

  • 61% of consumers say online appointment scheduling is important when choosing a provider
  • 77% of consumers are interested in completing pre-visit questionnaires online and using online tools to provide info and confirm coverage
  • 69% of consumers are interested in digitally alerting the front desk staff that they’ve arrived and are waiting to be seen

Patients want it to be easy to find and pay their medical bills. Prioritize patient access at the start of the journey—like confirming details in a digital check-in process—so billing and payment processes go more smoothly. Providers should bill payers and patients ASAP so patients can view the bill at their convenience and ask questions. Patients also want the payment itself to be easy; offer multiple payment options in a mobile-friendly platform—something that 72% of patients say they want. 

Not only does patient access improve the patient experience, it has a major effect on revenue cycle management and overall financial health: 

  • More patients scheduling appointments = larger base of new patients
  • More patients scheduling follow-up appointments = a larger share of returning patients
  • Easier access to medical bills = faster patient payments and revenue cycles
  • More accurate patient data = faster claim decisions and payments
  • Fewer no-shows = more predictable revenue cycles and more productive staff
RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES: 
Scheduling software, patient communication system, 
accounting/financial management software, revenue cycle management system

Improve patient access to their data

Patients who can access their data are more informed and more involved in their care plan. This often happens via a patient portal, although patient apps, practice management systems, EHR software, and other tools play major roles in this process. 

Data transparency should start at the very beginning. Integrate patient portal setup in the new patient onboarding process that happens on day 1. From there, market the system to existing patients to drive increased adoption.

If there are multi-channel options—e.g. patients can text to get scheduling options for their usual provider—offer those as well. This helps people who are hesitant to try another app/system, but are willing to engage with text messages.

But this access only works with thoughtful patient education. Customers need to understand that it exists and know how to use it—a process that happens over time and via multiple channels.

verify patient info and introduce the benefits of digital tools, like the patient portal and online registration
on the confirmation email/printout for a new appointment, include instructions for the self-service scheduling tool the patient can use to reschedule if needed
automate reminders to send at specific times (e.g. 7 days, 2 days, and 1 day before the appointment) and include a link to the digital check-in form to encourage pre-registration
for customers who receive paper statements, include instructions about using the online portal/payment system to view and pay their bill; for customers who pay copays or other fees onsite, provide a handout, QR code, or follow-up message about the online tools available
even small interactions are opportunities to introduce customers to digital tools, e.g. a library of resources that can answer their question, or a secure portal to review past results 
RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES: 
EHR/EMR/PM system, patient portal, patient communication system

How Skedulo increases patient access

When medical services are easily accessible, patients come in more often. This helps medical providers diagnose medical conditions faster and start treatments sooner. Down the line, these benefits add up to huge differences: better overall health, longer patient history, and less strain on healthcare resources.

Skedulo is a workforce management platform trusted by healthcare companies around the world. The Skedulo Pulse Platform and Skedulo Plus app offer:

  • Smart scheduling – handle employees, contractors, and specialized workers in one user-friendly system
  • Communication – push changes and updates to all impacted workers at once, no matter where they are
  • Custom forms and workflows – create forms and workflow steps that are perfectly tailored to the way you work
  • Integrate with common apps – extend your existing systems and configure Skedulo to meet your needs
  • Manage complex systems of care – use conditions, rules, and real-time data to manage providers with different qualifications and availability distributed among many sites of care 

Read more about how Skedulo has helped home health organizations, high-volume laboratory testing, and health and safety trainers improve their healthcare operations.

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