Jan 30
2024
Year in Review: Five Trends that Impacted Patient Services in 2023
By Josh Marsh, vice president and general manager Sonexus access and patient support, Cardinal Health.
Every patient’s journey through the healthcare system is different, but patients on specialty medications need extra support with navigating both high costs and overcoming barriers to access. For specialty patients, streamlining access to care is especially critical.
Looking back at 2023, below are five industry trends that have made a big impact on both the patient and provider experience. These trends – some positive and some negative – have shaped the patient journey over the past year and provide insight into how the patient services hub industry will evolve in the new year to come.
Digital assistant chatbots allow for increased flexibility and efficiency
Over the past year, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital assistant chatbots have played an important role in removing obstacles that prolong and complicate patient access to life-changing therapies. Chatbots allow for flexibility in the patient’s schedule by assisting with tasks and providing information without the need to pick up the phone.
These tasks include filling in missing health data, uploading insurance cards and answering questions about certain services available, all while simulating human conversation. Many physician offices prefer chatbots, due to the ability to communicate with the patient services hub without major disruption to their workflow. This allows providers to allocate more time to other parts of the patient’s health journey.
The digital assistant chatbot’s 24/7 availability gives flexibility to both patients and physicians, and makes a real impact on improving patient access and speed-to-therapy. The key to an effective digital assistant chatbot experience is to ensure that the technology is powered by a human when necessary, resulting in a custom-fit patient experience.
In cases where a more complex issue needs to be solved for the patient or provider’s office, a live team member should be able to seamlessly take over from a digital interaction. This experience can still be delivered virtually via the digital assistant chatbot, or the patient can be connected via phone.