Patient communication: how automating healthcare communications can improve patient satisfaction

With only 24% of people being satisfied with the NHS and 52% clearly stating they are not happy at all about the service, it’s clear something needs to change, starting from patient communications and experience. When digging further into these low levels of satisfaction we found that:

• 60% of people were not satisfied with how difficult it is to get a GP appointment
• 60% of people were not happy with the long wait for routine hospital services

This means different aspects of the healthcare services should be addressed. One of the most important ones, after quality and access to the services, is patient communication.

How to improve patient communication

There may be times when it’s not possible to add extra appointments or have more staff available. However, streamline operations, by using intelligent automations is one of the major tactics that the NHS can implement to improve service and patient outcomes. At Esendex we’re privileged enough to have worked with many healthcare organisations to deliver automated patient communications. We know first-hand these can help save invaluable time and resources.

What are automated communications?

Automated communications are messages which are automatically sent to individuals or groups of recipients, with little or no manual intervention.

SMS automations can be used to optimise business processes. For example they can be used to send appointment reminders to reduce costly missed appointments. Automated communications can also be used to enhance customer communications, so users are able to get the support they need without having to spend hours on the phone.

How to automate patient communications

Utilising Esendex’s communication solutions, automated communications can be achieved in three main ways:

1. SMS API: Integrate SMS into your existing services. Our intelligent API is currently available in cURL, C#, PHP, Java, Ruby, Node, and Go.
2. SMS software plugins: Integrate Esendex products with existing systems or applications, for example, Clanwilliam patient engagement software.
3. Bespoke Automations: Create bespoke communication workflows and auto-replies with our Managed Services team, using rule-based triggers.

Esendex’s automations leverage existing business systems and datasets. There’s no need to upload sheets, connect to an API, or download new software. Automations are ideal for organisations looking to automate the bulk sending of templated message(s) to patients, from a fixed file. Previously, your team may have organised patient communications, by downloading, preparing and then manually uploading various recipient lists to the Esendex platform. Working with our Managed Services team, we can create a solution by which this file is uploaded to an SFTP – secure file transfer.

From there, Esendex’s automation framework analyses the file and based on pre-agreed workflows, triggers and templated messages, will automatically instigate all communications. Ensuring for example, all patients receive accurate, timely, appointment reminders, test results or even prescription alerts, via whichever communication channel was previously set – SMS, WhatsApp Business Platform, Voice or Email.

The impact of automated patient communications

The impact of automating healthcare communications is two-fold. First healthcare communications can have a significant effect on patient engagement and outcomes. Thanks to automations, patients can:

• Be reminded in time of their appointment.
• Reschedule the appointment if needed. This is particularly important for two reasons: saving money and time and offering the newly free slot to another patient to reduce waiting times.
• Be reminded of therapy or medications
• Be reminded of preventive visits or screenings
• Receive post-appointment care instructions
• Receive confirmation of follow-up visits
• Receive post-appointment satisfaction surveys
• Receive payment reminders

Secondly, automated communications free-up invaluable time and resources. The Institute of Public Policy Research estimates that automation could save the NHS as much as £12.5 billion per year. Not only can automated communications help reduce Did-Not-Attend rates, it also saves staff time. Enabling Healthcare providers to focus on providing their patients the best care.

The future of patient engagement

Ultimately, we predict that the future of patient engagement will involve an increasing number of use cases managed, or at the very least supported, by automated communications. Afterall, text reminders to patient mobiles can improve medication adherence. And automated communications are still a relatively new concept within Healthcare. In terms of identifying the patient health strategies automated messages could help support, we believe we’re only scratching the surface. Additionally, to ensure patients feel comfortable and remain trusting of telehealth processes, we expect Healthcare providers will continue to focus on creating patient-first communication strategies. This will include careful consideration of patient communication channel preferences.If you’d like to learn more about how Esendex automations can support your healthcare organisation, simply contact one of our expert team at [email protected].