Digital transformation in the health sector

Digital transformation sounds like a scary expensive mammoth coming to take over your practice. Don’t worry, it’s not that scary. In simpler terms, digital transformation basically means switching from software and storage on your computers to cloud-hosted storage and subscription-based software.

Old software was updated when the new version was released, which meant you needed to buy the new version for every single person in your practice who used the software. Then you needed the IT company to install it, and periodically check to make sure you had the latest version and the updated hardware to run it on. Today’s subscription based software is much easier, as many are monthly instalments, or subscriptions, rather than a lump sum for user licences, and a stable internet connection, most software automatically updates. It’s much better as developers can iron out bugs quickly, bring new features much faster to users, and sometimes doesn’t cost as much upfront, or in the long run.

Most people today have used cloud storage at least once. Dropbox, Google Drive and iCloud are among the most notable. Storing data used to be a nightmare; you would have to buy your own servers, keep them in an air-conditioned cooled room 24/7, ensure they were properly secured yourself, update your own hardware and have specialised staff to care for it. This was very expensive at the time, but there was no previous alternative. Cloud storage is much easier and you don’t have to maintain hardware or hire staff or cool rooms; you just pay the subscription for the amount of storage you need, upgrade or downgrade as you like, and upload your files. It’s much easier, and remarkably cheaper.

Now you know what the all the fuss is about. Digital transformation is cheaper, less hassle and overall, a much better deal than its convoluted predecessors. Every decade now, we have a large step up in technology and the business world converges for one mission: “digital transformation”. It’s 2020’s buzzword, and every business, including your health practice, should be looking at having your own digital transformation as it’s better for your business’s operation and bottom line.

Managing patient appointments

Do you remember having to write patient appointments into a date book in pencil, and then grabbing an eraser when they have a change? Technology has changed this for us and now, many practices have patients book their appointments online. Self service is preferred by patients so that they don’t have to ring the practice, and they can book the appointment when it’s convenient to them, like at 10pm when they’ve just remembered before bed. This transformation saves your practice time and provides a better level of convenience to your patients. This in turn lowers the number of appointment calls and also reduces the number of walk-ins for appointment bookings. A patient can simply book an appointment online, without having to interact with your staff, freeing up your staff’s time to focus on more key tasks throughout the day, and also providing a more convenient method of appointment booking.

Reduce call volumes with live chat

Time is money in today’s world and we are all individually measured by how much more productivity we can get into our day. By providing a live chat for your website, you can reduce the number of calls you get in a day and increase your staff’s customer service productivity up to three times. A staff agent can chat with up to three patients at a time, whereas you can only speak with one at a time over the phone. This reduces the time spent still on hold in a queue, and speeds up the duration of dealing with patient queries.

You can even level up your digital transformation by having an AI ChatBot answer basic patient queries before they speak with a member of staff. This can act as a buffer, giving your staff more time to speak with patients, increasing the quality of your customer service, and also reduce the number of chats staff have to engage with. Sometimes, a ChatBot can help a patient without the intervention of a human staff member. That’s a digital transformation everyone loves!

Improve overall communication with patients

Digital transformation isn’t just about having sophisticated software help your patients, it’s also about improving your communication overall with patients. Software like Click4Assistance integrates with your patient CRM so you can also track when they have reached out for assistance, have a quick update chat rather than have them come in for a five minute follow up appointment, communicate easily with patients who may be mobility restricted or have difficulties communicating over the phone, and even help patients 24/7 when they need it via an AI ChatBot that never sleeps.

Digital transformation is a big scary term for making your practice more streamlined, more productive, more cost effective, and more automated so your in-house staff can focus on more on what’s important.

If you’re interested in deploying Click4Assistance, the UK’s premier GDPR compliant live chat software solution, to digitally transform your health practice, give us a call on 08451235871 or send an email theteam@click4assistance.co.uk and one of our team experts will be with you right away.