Tom Hileman leads Hileman Group, an award-winning agency delivering high-touch, data-driven marketing solutions for leading organizations.
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Digital transformation is key when developing a patient-focused approach to healthcare. In addition to streamlining operations to create improved efficiency, digital transformation allows healthcare providers to better understand patient needs, build trust and deliver an experience with greater personalization. By understanding the needs and behaviors of existing and prospective patients, healthcare systems can diversify their service methods and build rapport to establish customer loyalty.
However, digital transformation is a multilayered process that requires precision, expertise and careful planning. You likely have already read plenty of research on the right ways to implement your strategy, but are you able to recognize the wrong methods? Many organizations—including my own agency—have discovered through trial and error which methods result in greater efficiency and which can cause snags along the way. To ensure your business enjoys a successful digital transformation, here are some of the most common pitfalls to avoid.
Pitfall #1: Too Much Emphasis On The ‘Digital Front Door’
A “digital front door” can be summarized as the technology and strategy that engages patients through the entirety of their care journey—from the initial point of contact through the end of health services rendered. But when it comes to digital transformation, this may be too narrow a view for healthcare organizations.
Although digital front doors are incredibly useful from a marketing perspective, this philosophy is too linear for a post-transformation patient journey. An advanced digital patient journey is complex, cyclical and can constantly change directions. Some organizations fall into the trap of expending all their energy and effort into getting patients and customers through that front door but don’t have a plan for them after they enter the patient pool, which is when organizations can lose focus on patient needs and disconnect from their goals.
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A smart choice for health systems is to prioritize making the care experience as easy and convenient as possible—not just for patients, but for caregivers, clinicians and support personnel as well. This offers a more holistic approach to digital engagement and will most likely keep your patients and care providers happy.
Pitfall #2: Neglecting Enterprise Data
Enterprise data is the entirety of the digital information flowing through an organization, which includes records and databases, plus more abstract content like visuals. This data is also typically shared by users across an entire organization. When it comes to performing a digital transformation, some health systems focus too much on the end result rather than applying this enterprise data to the process.
If a health system fails to take a thorough inventory of its existing enterprise data, it’s more difficult to accurately analyze the breadth and depth of the organization’s relationship to its patients. Understanding data means understanding patient needs, so by garnering the complete scope of current enterprise data, a health system can build a solid foundation for the digital transformation process to start from. Paying close attention to this data helps an organization best meet its goals and provides a seamless transition to its technological destination.
Pitfall #3: Slacking On Social Media Content
During the digital transformation process, health systems are usually prepared and well versed when it comes to new technologies and platforms to adopt as they modernize their organization. They carefully consider their strategy and implement tools like customer intelligence, data management platforms, A/B testing, augmented reality, search engine optimization, among others. But quite often, these same organizations may forgo building content on popular social media apps like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This could be attributed to two big factors: Upper management feels that social media is not the proper place for credible healthcare information from a reputable health system, and/or they don’t have the bandwidth for social marketing experts to perform regular maintenance or strategy work.
However, it does in fact serve organizations well to invest in social media marketing: According to Mandi Bishop’s book, Healthcare Social Media for Consumer Informatics, “nearly 90% of all adults in the USA search for health information on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media sites.”
To meet patient and customer search needs, organizations will benefit from designating a social marketing team to operate and oversee content on such platforms. And in an age when misinformation is easily created and shared across the internet, it may prove to be exceptionally helpful for credible health systems to offer access to accurate and reliable healthcare resources.
At its best, a digital transformation can automate and personalize content for your patients as well as organize and streamline operations for their care providers. As you work closely with your team on the best transformation process for your organization and patients, keep these pitfalls in mind so you can anticipate and overcome any possible obstacles with minimal effort and maximum success.
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Author: Tom Hileman, Forbes Councils Member
