)
Convoluted journeys. Compromised trust. And the looming threat of overpayments. These are just a few of the patient service challenges healthcare leaders are grappling with today. With more patient and member interactions happening remotely, the pressure to deliver a seamless digital experience is all too real. How can healthcare CX providers ensure that members consistently receive positive, high-quality service while meeting strict compliance and privacy requirements? With conversational artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.
Healthcare consumers are overwhelmed and frustrated.
The global pandemic accelerated digital transformations across every industry, including healthcare. However, compared to the broader consumer marketplace, the healthcare industry lagged in digital adoption and implementation. Those that did provide digital patient service offered a considerably different experience from the smooth, seamless journey that members had grown accustomed to from retailers and other service providers. Faced with often counterintuitive and complex processes, members were quick to abandon digital channels and quicker still to score patient service poorly.
Healthcare leaders need to rethink their CX strategy.
Reversing the downward trend in healthcare patient service requires leaders to take a hard look at their CX processes—and how members perceive them. While user satisfaction remains the top priority for service providers (regardless of industry), other considerations include operational inefficiencies and redundant solutions—all of which can hurt a provider’s bottom line. Here are today’s top three healthcare CX challenges—and how leaders can overcome them:
- Overly complicated processes
Healthcare members routinely rate patient service processes as too complex to understand and consume. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 52 percent of members found it too complicated to complete an insurance application on their own. Conversational AI and automation can solve many self-service woes. AI-powered intelligent virtual agents (IVRs) make it easier for members to update their policies, schedule routine healthcare and ensure appointments are made. The same technology can also streamline live interactions, eliminating redundancies—like having to repeat information to agents—and automating compliance, privacy and follow-up actions. - Compromised member trust
Healthcare is an intensely personal issue, with high emotional and financial stakes. Members are often aloof of processes—particularly those involving costs—they don’t fully comprehend. In fact, the KFF reports that 62 percent of members don’t understand their coverage options. Here too, technology can alleviate process complexity and user frustration. By utilizing real-time emotion, sentiment and intent analysis, healthcare CX providers can better understand member concerns and take appropriate next-best actions—injecting much-needed empathy into often stressful interactions and winning over wary members. - Operational inefficiencies
Among the leading cost drivers for healthcare service providers is overpayment of claims. While claims departments perform their task diligently, much of the work is done manually by humans that are, well, only human. As a result, inefficiencies abound and manual errors—some with serious financial consequences—are not uncommon. Artificial intelligent can augment claims staff capabilities by monitoring every interaction and flagging potential overpayments before they are processed. This can potentially save healthcare organizations millions in losses and recovery costs.
Want to learn about healthcare CX technology?
Download our ebook to explore how conversational AI and automation can transform your patient experience and save healthcare members—and your service staff—time and money.