HIPAA Compliant Live Chat Elevates Customer Experience in Healthcare Vertical

As technological advancements continue to infuse and transform every facet of society, the healthcare industry is no exception. While some may argue that healthcare technology adoption has been too sluggish at times, consumers, patients, and providers alike can all be thankful that a rapidly changing landscape solidifies the need for HIPAA compliant technology solutions in 2017 and beyond. Organizations already using HIPAA compliant technology have experienced profound results, including:

• Reduced cost-per-interaction
• Higher patient satisfaction
• Improved efficiencies
• Reduced risk of facing costly noncompliance penalties
• Improved reporting and data collection
• Increased conversion rates

The CDC reports that in 2015 alone the United States spent $3.2 trillion in healthcare expenditures, and this number continues to climb. Providers today can adopt innovative and creative uses of HIPAA compliant technology in their efforts to curb rising costs while meeting the needs of a growing population that is living longer than ever before.

New audience; new technologies

The demand for advancements in healthcare technology has been spurred in part by our nation’s changing population and recent shifts in demographics. Millennials have officially overtaken Baby Boomers as the largest living generation in America, as reported by Pew Research Center. In fact, millennials now number 74.5 million in the United States alone and represent over a quarter of the nation’s population. It’s hard to ignore the fact that these 74.5 million individuals possess immense purchasing power. As members of the generation continue to move into their prime spending years, advance in careers, raise families and assist aging parents and/or grandparents, this power and the generation’s desire for a revamped healthcare system that integrates with their lifestyle will increase. In fact, 60 percent of millennials are in favor of incorporating telemedicine (the use of telecommunications technologies to support remote health care, education, and administration) into their comprehensive healthcare strategy. Smart healthcare organizations looking to cater to a changing demographic while remaining competitive in the landscape can use HIPAA compliant technology solutions such as live chat to their advantage.

HIPAA compliant chat offers up innovative solutions for providers seeking a competitive edge

If you think that your organization isn’t a good fit for live chat, think again. The applications for chat in healthcare are as varied as the providers implementing new technology and the patients and consumers they serve. Here are just a few examples:

Telemedicine and remote care

Patients no longer need to schedule appointments face-to-face with providers in order to receive quality care. Many healthcare providers and health insurance companies now offer patients the ability to connect with a doctor or nurse remotely in a telemedicine setting. Patients experiencing less pressing, routine issues such as the common cold can log into secure web portals and chat with a nurse about their symptoms and recommended course of treatment from the comfort of home. Telemedicine represents an exciting development in medical care, and is already working to help alleviate overcrowded urgent care centers and doctors’ offices, freeing up providers to see patients for more complex medical issues that require in-person attention. This remote care option is almost always cheaper to administer, and the resulting reduction in cost-per-interaction helps practices cut down on ever-increasing healthcare costs while providing patients with more affordable care options.

Doctors’ offices, clinics, and hospitals

Doctors’ offices, clinics, and hospitals see thousands of patients every year, and the demand for quality service is only going to increase with a rising population. Live chat helps clients such as Phoenix Children’s Hospital address inquiries, complete tasks, and resolve issues that used to be reserved for in-person, phone, or email interactions only. Chat software allows those fulfilling administrative functions in provider offices and clinics (office managers, front desk receptionists, medical assistants, etc) the freedom and flexibility to assist multiple patients concurrently. This results in shorter wait times and increased patient satisfaction. Administrative and billing staff can use chat technology to help them schedule patient appointments, answer commonly asked questions, resolve billing and insurance issues, refill prescriptions, and more.

Health insurance providers

Anyone who has ever groaned in frustration over precious time lost trying to resolve insurance coverage questions and claim issues knows that this is an all-too-common occurrence. Chat technology helps insurance providers deliver an improved customer experience by giving patients the option to connect instantly with insurance customer care teams. Consumers receive the answers they need when they need them, and satisfaction increases as a result. For insurance companies, this is only one of many enormous benefits that chat technology delivers. Insurance teams can streamline internal processes and improve efficiencies by implementing chat. Instead of assisting a single client at once over the phone, customer care teams can assist multiple consumers at once, which significantly reduces cost-per-interaction spend and wait times. Insurance providers can also use chat to guide patients and potential subscribers through online surveys and form submissions, helping providers avoid costly errors down the line and further saving on time and money.

Behavioral health and treatment centers

HIPAA compliant chat offers a compelling advantage for organizations that routinely deal with sensitive topics in which trust, speed, and anonymity are of the utmost importance. Drug and alcohol addiction treatment centers, mental health care providers, behavioral health organizations and more have all witnessed powerful results after implementing chat. Drug treatment marketing industry leader, Netjumps International, experienced a 225% increase in conversion rates per admissions representative when online leads interacted via a live chat engagement as opposed to a contact form engagement. Chat breaks down barriers and helps providers assist potential patients during an extremely vulnerable time in their lives. Treatment centers and programs, such as Aid in Recovery, that offer live chat support are seeing increased admissions rates and helping more people than ever before. This technology also helps providers cut down on costs across the board, creating additional budget bandwidth for new programs to assist those in need. Read more about the ways live chat is reshaping the behavioral health field.

Medical equipment, pharmaceutical companies, and medical SaaS providers

Medical equipment distributors, pharmaceutical companies, online prescription delivery services, and medical practice management SaaS companies can all derive exceptional benefits from implementing live chat within their overarching growth strategy.  Services such as PillPack, a revolutionary online pharmacy, use HIPAA compliant chat technology every day to streamline and enhance their customer service workflows and sales and lead generation efforts. Companies in this space can connect instantly with prospects securely and privately via HIPAA compliant conversation platforms, allowing providers to answer questions about products and offerings in a shorter amount of time, reducing the sales cycle duration and increasing conversion rates and revenue. On the flip side, customer support teams can rely on chat technology to help them deliver quality customer support and answer questions or resolve issues concerning products and services. They can use online conversation platforms to do this more efficiently and cheaply, all while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction.

Cord banking and fertility services

HIPAA compliant conversation technology also proves to be incredibly valuable for medical services such as cord banking and fertility clinics, in which potential users of these types of services often conduct extremely thorough and time-consuming research. Chat helps providers address detailed questions and explain procedures in a secure, non-threatening setting and allows providers to help future patients make confident and well-informed decisions.

This competitive edge continues later down the line, as chat technology gives providers the necessary tools to engage in seamless and concurrent customer support interactions (with reduced support staffing requirements) from the beginning all the way to final stages of complex medical procedures.