How Ditching Paper and the Waiting Room can Increase Patient Engagement

A recent Google Cloud survey revealed that 45% of physicians say the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the pace of their organization’s adoption of technology, including making tech upgrades that normally would have taken years. For example, telehealth use rose by more than 3,000% and self-service digital payments in healthcare grew 31% year-over-year. Despite positive patient feedback and tangible ROI, however, a significant number of healthcare processes are still being conducted via pen and paper and the trusty analog telephone. In fact, up to 44% of providers still use paper charts.

Practices that have moved to a paperless environment, including leveraging electronic forms, contactless patient intake and virtual waiting rooms, are seeing a significant increase in efficiency and decrease in costs - but perhaps more importantly, a notable rise in patient engagement. Data shows that moving paper-driven processes online meets evolving patient expectations and can support practice revenue goals, without being burdensome to providers or staff. As practices consider their priorities through the end of the year and into 2022, it’s important to evaluate whether adopting contactless solutions will help meet their goals.