In the healthcare industry, ensuring patient satisfaction and efficient care delivery are vital for achieving successful outcomes. However, patient confusion and challenges can arise throughout the treatment journey, leading to frustration, delays in medication access, and suboptimal experiences. Patient journey mapping and analyzing interactions can help healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations understand the challenges faced by their patients. These approaches provide valuable insights into the patient experience, identify pain points, and enable targeted strategies to streamline the patient journey.
Within specialty pharmacy programs, confusion regarding enrollment and coordinating medication shipments is a common challenge. Patients often mistakenly assume that enrollment alone guarantees the coordination of medication shipment, without realizing the need for a current prescription or the need to contact the specialty pharmacy for refill shipments. Additionally, some patients may assume that if their enrollment expires, they no longer have a prescription, which is not always the case. These misunderstandings and overly complex processes can lead to frustration, delays in medication access, treatment gaps, and suboptimal patient experiences.
Patient journey mapping, coupled with interaction analysis, offers a systematic approach to visualize and understand the patient experience with their centers, from the initial point of contact to the completion of treatment. By mapping out this journey, organizations can identify pain points, process issues, gaps in communication, and areas of misunderstanding. Armed with this knowledge, targeted interventions and strategies can be developed to effectively address these challenges.
Utilizing Patient Journeys and Interaction Analysis – Pilot:
To empower one of our pharmaceutical clients and provide them with comprehensive insights into their patient journey, we developed an in-depth pilot program that involved analyzing patient interactions to build a patient journey map. Through an extensive analysis of a large sample of interactions spanning several months, we tracked patient interactions from both the internal patient foundation and the outsourced specialty pharmacy departments. Our focus was on understanding patient confusion, frustration, barriers, and challenges throughout their journey.
Our analysis revealed that the prescription refill process was the most cumbersome, and confusing process for patients. We identified several challenges, including the need for new prescriptions, inactive accounts, and shipping obstacles. By examining and analyzing these challenges holistically, we were able to uncover the root causes. Armed with a deep understanding of the patient journey and the identified process gaps, we provided our client with actionable insights for targeted improvement.
One of the most impactful changes implemented as a result of our findings was the introduction of an automated refill process. This change eliminated multiple back-and-forth interactions between patients and the contact centers, significantly reducing treatment gaps and simplifying the overall process. Moreover, the automation freed up valuable specialty pharmacy representative time, allowing them to focus on critical activities.
By identifying pain points, communication gaps, and areas of confusion, healthcare organizations can proactively improve clarity, remove barriers, and streamline processes. Patient journey mapping and interaction analysis empower organizations to gain a comprehensive understanding of the patient experience and implement targeted improvements to enhance patient satisfaction. Through improved clarity and streamlined processes, patient journey mapping contributes to optimal patient care, increased treatment adherence, and improved health outcomes. By leveraging patient data and interaction analysis, healthcare providers can make substantial strides toward delivering a frictionless patient experience and achieving positive patient outcomes.
About Centerfirst:
At Centerfirst, we utilize our patient expertise to create innovative solutions that seamlessly connect healthcare stakeholders with the patients and customers they serve through their interactions, ultimately improving the patient experience. Powered by a cutting-edge, industry-tuned AI (Artificial Intelligence) platform and guided by human expertise, we provide actionable insights and high-value guidance. With a deep understanding of patient needs, we work hand-in-hand with clients to design personalized programs to ensure maximum contact center performance.
We live in a world where every patient's voice is clearly heard, and every patient's need is completely addressed. This is what we are working towards at Centerfirst. We understand how crucial the value of patient feedback is to make this lofty goal a reality.
Are you ready to create a frictionless patient journey? Contact us to learn more.