CRM for Healthcare

The health industry is enormous and increasingly competitive. The rise of consumer-driven health care and the increased consumer demand for accurate and timely customer service processes have forced health care organizations to focus on Customer Relationship Management –CRM systems and technologies to streamline processes and increase customer satisfaction.

Customer Retention is becoming increasingly difficult in Healthcare. More than 30% customers have considered switching doctors or clinics due to negative customer service experiences.

More than half say they choose hospitals and clinics based on whether they believe employees understand their needs. As a result, health care providers are losing business. One in four say poor experiences have caused them to use or think about using walk-in centers to avoid hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices.

The most central components of healthcare CRM are integrated patient records and using electronic records to facilitate the check-in process, patient care and patient billing. Other key CRM functions include close integration to back office project accounting systems and enterprise content management systems.

As governments, employers, payers, and patients increasingly demand more timely information about preventive services, pre-service alternatives and post-service delivery, healthcare providers must respond with enterprise-wide, integrated business systems that serve both the healthcare provider and provide online access to patients and other stakeholders. In addition to consistently delivered customer service, patients want on-demand knowledge of their alternatives and visibility to their healthcare history. Top healthcare CRM systems are delivering by enabling the creation and customization of health plans for patients, permitting patients online access to manage their own healthcare and acting as a system of record to better control their healthcare activities, costs and benefits.

Healthcare leaders are also leveraging CRM for error reduction. CRM applications can prevent and mitigate medical errors and their crushing impact to patients, their families, public perception and the trust of communities. CRM data integrated with medical history and clinician data can directly impact medical services delivery. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical professionals have always relied on skill, training, and technology to provide safe and effective care for patients.

CRM software in healthcare inherits the typical software implementation challenges and more. HIPAA compliance is only the starting point and software as a service (SaaS) CRM healthcare systems must demonstrate enterprise level system compliance and information security safeguards. User adoption is generally cited as a greater challenge in healthcare than with more traditional for-profit businesses.