In a world full of choices, developing a patient's trust in a partnership to improve his health may be the bond that endures.
This article first appeared in the November 2015 issue of HealthLeaders magazine.
What does patient engagement really mean today? As patients take a more active role in managing their own health, healthcare organizations are challenged to enact strategies that improve customer loyalty. Increasingly, that challenge can be met with an infrastructure that encourages wellness and appropriate utilization built from sharing transparent information with patients about your organization's outcomes and expertise.
Patients want a partner in their healthcare decision-making that is focused on what's right for them. At the same time, healthcare organizations are conflicted. With a population health–based strategic emphasis, they can't afford to have profitable procedures go to retail competitors while footing the bill for expensive acute care interventions on the same patients.
As healthcare strategists, marketing chiefs, and experience officers plot the next few years for their organizations, they must think expansively about transparency, consumerism, digital engagement, and other trends that are changing how patients choose where they get their healthcare. In a world full of choices, developing a patient's trust in a partnership to improve their health may be the bond that endures.
Philip Betbeze is the senior leadership editor at HealthLeaders.