Posted on April 10, 2019 by West Corporation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 50 million Americans (or roughly 20 percent of the adult population in the U.S.) experience chronic pain. In addition to the obvious suffering that is caused by chronic pain, there is another problem: the cost.
When you consider the cost of care, medication, ER visits, hospitalizations and even missed work and decreased productivity that is tied to pain, the pain problem becomes clear.… Read more
Posted on April 4, 2019 by West Corporation
Don’t have a 2019 social media strategy? You’re not alone. Last year was a confusing one for social media marketers, leaving many in a state of paralysis. The Facebook algorithm changes and privacy concerns made businesses question whether or not to use the platform at all. And, keeping up with the ever emerging social media trends on all the platforms can keep your head spinning.… Read more
Posted on March 26, 2019 by West Corporation
Texting between patients and healthcare providers continues to grow in popularity. From 2011 to 2018, the number of patients who have exchanged text messages with healthcare providers has more than tripled (5% vs. 17%). And, according to results from a recent West survey, 11 percent of patients say texting is their top preference for receiving communications from their healthcare teams.… Read more
Posted on March 19, 2019 by West Corporation
Many complications related to chronic illnesses are avoidable, and yet emergency department visits, hospitalizations and other costly and unpleasant experiences are common among chronic patients. So why aren’t more of the preventable problems averted? One reason is that many patients simply don’t have a clear enough understanding of what their own health readings are and what they mean.… Read more
Posted on March 14, 2019 by West Corporation
It’s safe to assume that most Americans don’t enjoy paying healthcare bills. (Does anyone actually enjoy paying any bills?) Although paying medical bills may not top the list of things patients like to do, it turns out that providers can make the task less painful by initiating communication about healthcare costs.… Read more
Posted on March 7, 2019 by West Corporation
There’s no question that patient surveys are a valuable tool for improving care quality and patient satisfaction. Surveys play a critical role in improving the overall patient experience and HCAHPS metrics. Here’s how healthcare organizations are leveraging this powerful tool to support quality improvement initiatives.
Improving HCAHPS Metrics
Regulatory pressure changed everything.… Read more
Posted on January 30, 2019 by West Corporation
There’s no doubt that patient medical billing is vital to revenue cycle management in the healthcare industry. Though most healthcare organizations can agree that patient billing and payment are critical to their financial success, there are major hurdles to engage and activate patients to pay their balances. Want to have a positive impact on your organization’s revenue cycle?… Read more
Posted on January 15, 2019 by West Corporation
As a healthcare provider, you may have had moments when you were left shaking your head at a patient’s unhealthy choices. When patients behave in ways that are detrimental to their own health, it is frustrating. Providers know that the easier they make it for patients to follow care instructions and make healthy choices, the more likely patients are to do so.… Read more
Posted on January 8, 2019 by West Corporation
When it comes to patient satisfaction surveys, one thing is clear: nearly all healthcare providers (98%) think surveys are useful. But, providers aren’t clear on how to get patients to actually complete them.
Despite 86 percent of patients reporting being interested in taking surveys, many patients don’t take advantage of opportunities to participate in satisfaction surveys and share feedback with providers.… Read more
Posted on January 2, 2019 by West Corporation
Your homepage is the most valuable part of your website. Why? Because it is often the first impression a person gets about your healthcare practice. And these days, due to smartphone use, you only have about 8 seconds to capture a website visitor’s attention before they move on. Your website’s homepage shows current and potential patients whether or not your practice is a good fit for their needs.… Read more
