Healthcare CRM Solutions – Promising and Beneficial for Healthcare Industry

“Get closer than ever to your customer. So close, in fact, that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.” – Steve Jobs

“The global healthcare customer relationship management (CRM) market is estimated to reach USD 17.4 billion by 2023 from USD 8.8 billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 14.6% during the forecast period.”

The healthcare industry is one in-demand domain where there is a lot happening and hence the implementation of integrated software solutions is vital. Most healthcare organizations make use of these tools, of which healthcare CRM is one popular solution.

The healthcare CRM is utilized in hospitals, public and private clinics, dispensaries, laboratories, etc. Factors like the digitalization drive during the pandemic, enhanced influence, and usage of the social media elements, need for high-quality healthcare, a strong relationship between patients and other stakeholders, etc. has acted as a catalyst in increased implementation of these CRM solutions in the healthcare sector.

The CRM solution for health goes way beyond merely managing and monitoring patients’ administration. There is much more it does! Creating and tracking tickets, online resources, a dashboard for monitoring, social media interaction and integration, locating patient information, regularizing follow-up mechanisms, boosting patient loyalty, keeping abreast with technological advancement, and much more! A lot is happening in the healthcare industry and there is no looking back!

Courtesy: Healthcare CRM market worldwide between 2016 and 2025, by end user (in million U.S. dollars)

Let us first go through what this healthcare CRM solution is and then further drill down into details of the key features and benefits that it offers, which is why it is so popular amongst the industry segment, worldwide.

What is Healthcare CRM Solution?

As we know, Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information. A healthcare CRM solution is meant for healthcare professionals and patients for the best of hospital and patient management.

With the growing number of online health portals and healthcare mobile apps, the implementation of an effective CRM is even more important. Centralized management of all patients related information and services like prescriptions, medical history, appointments, communication, doctor referrals, calls, emails, patient notes, and preferences is needed and that is what a healthcare CRM looks after.

An ideal healthcare CRM system includes contact information and history, billing history, patient documents, appointment handling and reminders, patient notes with pre-existing conditions, medications, treatments, allergies, and much more.

The recent CRM trends that the industry is showcasing are the usage of AI and IoT in day-to-day activities, remote care delivery with telehealth and telemedicine apps, customized patient care, and the generation of insightful data analytics for futuristic activities.

The easily accessible information to patients, doctors, administrators, insurance persons, nurses, etc. helps the entire chunk of professionals build a strong, secure, and trustworthy rapport with patients.

Features of Healthcare CRM that Makes It Promising

Patient Information Management and Segmentation

Since patient information is already existing in the system, it need not be filled in time and again. This leads to a seamless experience for patients and fastens up the entire process. It also relieves administrators of the extra burden of re-entering the information each time the patient comes. Healthcare CRM also helps in segmenting patients into different groups based on parameters such as high-risk health issues, demographics, location, mode of consultation, etc.

Timely Generation of Notifications/Alerts/Reminders

Remembering appointments, schedules, and dates is a tough task for all be it a patient, a doctor, or an administrator. Implementation of CRM software solutions helps in automating these activities through a variety of alerts, notifications, and reminders. Some of these could be automated based on pre-defined rules and some can be user-generated but they surely help in the smooth execution of events.

Smooth Management of Referrals

With the software solution, it is easy to manage coordination between doctors and patients spread across different geographical locations. Referral activities can be easily managed and the complete performance can be monitored with a futuristic view by the management for better performance and additional revenue.

Effective Scheduling of Appointments

Scheduling appointments for patients is a tedious and important task that turns into a smooth and systematic operation through such solutions. Errors can be avoided, desired date and time can be chosen, the waiting time can be reduced and reminders can be generated. This directly leads to higher patient satisfaction and thereby introduction to newer patients. Features such as busy days and weeks can also be indicated through AI-driven logic which can prove beneficial to patients.

Good Read: How VR is Reforming Healthcare

Contract and Back Office Management

The tools help in proper contract management with a centralized repository, timely renewals through standard procedures, and reminders if due. It also creates seamless integration with the back office that includes all data-related files and support systems. This ensures lesser duplicity, loss of data, faster retrieval of information, and better management of information.

Inbuilt Regulation Compliance with Standards

All the information that is included in a healthcare system is crucial, confidential, and must be taken care of, with extra caution. That is where adhering to standardized compliances like HIPAA is a must. Through the Healthcare CRM, it is viable to incorporate all necessary standards in the system and follow it regularly and automatically. The system even prompts when there is a violation of any kind.

Generation of Dashboards and Variety of Reports

The major advantage of having a software CRM is the accessibility to a variety of information through dashboards and reports. Since all the data is centrally stored, all stakeholders have access to different types of outputs based on the user control access and the inputs they give. With such well-formatted layouts, it is very easy and effective for decision makers to implement a further course of action, for the betterment of the management and patient administration.

Data Security and Patient Privacy

Since all the data that is moving around is crucial, maintaining its integrity and securing it is highly important. It includes the patient’s medical history and records, legal compliance documents, doctor’s personal details, etc. The healthcare CRM can store all confidential information and offer access only as permitted. Doing so manually is a tough task and may not be as effective as through a software solution.

Activity Tracking and Management

All healthcare segments and all involved stakeholders have multiple to-do lists, associated tasks, and responsibilities. Healthcare CRM helps in managing, monitoring, and maintaining those task lists regularly, keeping all those involved in sync with each other. It generates necessary alerts and reminders, follow-up calls, etc. to highlight the items to be attended to, with immediate effect.

Trends and Patterns within Patients

The growth and improvement in the healthcare industry depend a lot on what feedback the patients give and what more they desire. The Healthcare CRM stores and analyses all the information that is fed into the system. Based on the hoards of data getting generated daily, it consolidates and brings up the futuristic trends and patterns that are being observed. This can help the management in making relevant changes and thereby, increasing the market potential of the healthcare segment, attracting more patients, and raising the patient satisfaction quotient.

Good Read: Voice Of The Customer(VOC) Technology Is The New Gateway To The Improved Healthcare Industry

Major Advantages of Healthcare CRM That Makes It Popular

• Enhanced patient retention and addition of new patients
• Accurate and complete record keeping,
• Awareness of exact medical condition, allergies, prescriptions etc. by doctors
• Maximum, precise, and optimum usage of resources
• Least chances of manual errors and time spent on manual entry
• Creative time by staff for better and innovative tasks
• Personalized care and focus on patients
• Appropriate marketing strategy implementation and results
• Automated activities like emails, notifications, alerts, etc.
• Seamless integration with other systems with smooth data transfer
• Organized and proper alignment of daily activities with appropriate priorities
• Effective task collaboration with easy handover if needed
• Access of software solution on multiple devices and platforms
• Large improvement in the billing process, tracking transactions, and real-time information
• Automatic workflow management and payment reminders for unpaid invoices
• Faster communication with a live chat system, automated emails, etc.
• Better interaction with patients and increased outreach
• High-end security with encryption of confidential information
• Compliance with HIPAA and other regulatory standards
• Detailed assessment of patient–hospital relationships
• Centralized repository of all stakeholders-related information with proper integration
• Measurement of key performance indicators with a 360-degree view of stakeholder performances
• Patient intake automation and patient communication
• Instant and enhanced chronic disease management

Leading Healthcare CRM Solutions in 2022

There are many healthcare CRM solutions that are popular. Some of them are Salesforce Health Cloud, Veeva CRM, Leadsquared, Evariant, Pipedrive, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, PlanPlus Online, Nimble, etc.

There are leading software development companies that offer customized healthcare CRM solutions based on organizational requirements and goals. There has been a constant comparison between off-the-shelf software and custom software.

To each its own! Both have their own chunk of pros and cons. It depends upon different parameters like performance, budget, functionalities, user friendliness, etc. to decide which type of solution to choose from.

Summing It Up

Healthcare CRM solutions have been revolutionizing the way the healthcare industries work, in today’s digital landscape. The extent to which its benefits and features impact the overall working of the industry segment is too good to believe. Healthcare experts are now indulging into a variety of facilities that help them grow their business multi-fold, keeping intact the quality and trust factor to patients.

With these healthcare CRM solutions, it is all about offering a superior, trustworthy, and swift patient experience. Be it selecting a readymade solution or taking the help of an experienced IT solutions provider to carve out a tailormade solution, going digital is the way!