A Digital Front Door is the Key to Addressing Staffing Shortages and Burnout

Dec 7

By Christina Onolaja, MHA

It seems everywhere you look now, self-service is present from self-check-outs to ordering and paying using a QR code at a restaurant. Self-service, or the digital front door, became even more prominent with the COVID pandemic to reduce face-to-face interactions and the spread of the virus. Healthcare has had self-service options for patients for some time now through patient portals but these options are continually expanding to allow patients to interact with their healthcare team in the way they prefer. These methods can include self-scheduling, text messages to request an appointment or change an existing appointment, paying bills, completing health assessments before arriving at the office, and checking in for an appointment prior
to arrival.

With staffing shortages and burnout plaguing healthcare facilities, it is important to look at technology to create a digital front door. The digital front door is a way for patients to interact with the practice using automation and artificial intelligence
that does not necessarily require human interaction. According to a Zippia article by Caitlin Mazur, 67% of patients prefer online scheduling to booking over the phone or in person. An online scheduling system that directly books the appointment into the provider schedule without requiring staff intervention is a simple way to ease some of the front desk responsibilities. This also allows staff to focus more on the patients standing in front of them.

Choosing the right healthcare application to create the digital front door for patients is critical to ensuring adoption. Some options are or can be built into the Electronic Health Record (EHR). Most EHRs have an embedded patient portal, online scheduling, and pre-registration solution but they may not have all of the features an organization would like to make it a less-than-ideal option. Third-party applications such as Phreesia, Epion, and Relatient have solutions for pre-registration, online scheduling, and payment collection. Each application varies in price and has a wide range of options allowing organizations to find something within their budget.

In some cases, these software applications can be used to help satisfy quality goals as well. For example, they can utilize a list of patients due for preventive care such as wellness visits, mammograms, or colonoscopies to send a notification to the patient letting them know they are due and providing a link they can click on to schedule whatever is needed. Then they can use the pre-registration option to reduce their wait times in the office. Some offices still require patients to wait in their car so if the solution has a texting option, patients can use it to communicate with the office letting them know they have arrived.

The key to a successful digital front door for any practice is to understand what the goal is and implement a solution that will support reaching the goal. Effectively communicating the vision with providers, staff, and patients and then listening to feedback will support a high adoption rate. Pre-visit registration, online scheduling, and payment collections are functions that do not require human resources. Shifting these tasks to patient-driven technology solutions will free up staff time and allow them to focus on the patients standing in front of them, resulting in a more positive patient experience.