Earlier this year my dad went to the hospital for what he thought were kidney stones. Tests showed something more serious – a mass in his kidney the size of a softball. Multiple doctors and specialists came on board to help him get well. But the opposite happened.
Without a coordinated, integrated understanding of my dad’s condition, medications, and symptoms over time, the flurry of doctors missed that he had a rare but life-threatening immune system response to his treatment. He had multiple doctors using two different health portals. Each specialist focused on their specialty, not the whole patient. No one had a complete picture except for my dad and our family.
As someone who works in the healthcare industry, I recognized the disconnect and advocated for him as his health declined until we got confirmation of his extremely rare condition via a special blood test. He’s now responding well to the new treatments and his health is improving.
Unfortunately, my story is not unique. Every health system I work with can tell me its third next available appointment. Most can tell me portal adoption, call abandonment, and no-show rate by clinic. Almost none can tell me how many times a patient has to explain their situation or connect doctors, insurance, pharmacies, and others across the ecosystem for clear patient understanding.
Fixing the complicated healthcare ecosystem is a challenge that many are working to solve. In the CX world, we have the power to orchestrate better customer interactions around medical care so that patients have better experiences, which lead to improved care, and can even save lives. But it takes more than technology.
Technology overshadows patient centricity
Health systems keep widening the digital front door, with tools including self-scheduling, chatbots, patient portals, mobile apps, and virtual care. Each promised to make it easier to get in. Each delivered. Adoption climbed. Yet patent access and experience scores have barely moved.
More than 78% of Americans say they use mobile apps or websites to manage their healthcare. Online portal messages jumped 153% over the past five years and now account for more than 12% of all patient communications. Nearly one-third of adults use AI chatbots for health information.
At the same time, roughly 83% of patients reported repeatedly providing the same health information due to lack of integrated data and almost three-quarters reported filling out a duplicate form. At the same time, 95% of consumers agree that the healthcare experience should be as seamless and personalized as leading consumer brands.
Somebody has to own the space between the systems. And right now, that space is currently owned by the patient (or their families). I know this first-hand.
More channels. More doors. More interactions. More frustration. A patient with a new symptom crosses between five and seven touchpoints before they see a clinician. Contact center to portal. Portal to scheduling. Scheduling to clinic. Clinic to billing. And that’s for routine care. Add more complicated or even extremely rare circumstances, and complexity climbs exponentially as more doctors and systems get involved.
Each touchpoint has its own system, its own data, its own staff. A referral comes through the portal. The patient is told to call to schedule. The associate does not have the referral. The patient arrives at the clinic. The clinic does not have the prior authorization. No one told them one was needed. Each step is technically functional. The patient still falls through the cracks.
What orchestration means for patient access
The answer: better orchestration across touchpoints. For CX leaders, orchestration impacts important metrics including speed to see a patient, referral conversion, and complaint volume, with the same lever.
It gives line of sight into all open slots at every office in the scheduling process, so the associate can book anywhere in the system immediately. It means conversation history travels with the patient across phone, portal, SMS, and front desk, so nothing has to be re-established. It means intent is read at the point of contact so the patient arrives at the right place the first time. And it means one source of truth so prep instructions don't contradict each other, just to name a few examples.
Orchestration in action
A leading international medical center brought us in when screening demand outpaced its scheduling model. Five sites issued seven different sets of pre-procedure instructions. We mapped the journey from referral through reporting and rebuilt the handoffs across all five sites.
The results: First available appointments moved to within 1–10 days, down from a range that stretched to 142 days. Same-day cancellations dropped to 8%. Pre-procedure instructions consolidated from seven versions to two. The organization added $800K in incremental revenue.
New metrics for your healthcare dashboard
A new approach requires a new way of thinking and measuring. Some successful datapoints for your orchestrated dashboard include:
Handoffs per booked appointment. How many separate people or systems does a patient engage to get one visit scheduled and prepared for?
Cross-site booking rate. What share of calls end with a patient booked somewhere other than the location they dialed, and can your agents even see those slots?
Instruction variance. How many versions of prep, discharge, and financial guidance exist across your sites right now?
Can CX save lives? I think so
At first glance, a new contact center dashboard doesn’t impact better care. But seamless interactions simplify the patient journey so organizations can focus on more coordinated care and connecting healthcare professionals around patient centricity.
I was passionate before about how we in the CX world can help improve care and save lives. After the experience with my dad, now I’m even more committed.
