Those in the healthcare community are continually seeking new and innovative ways to serve patients and provide a higher standard of care. In other words, they are always looking ahead into the future.
But what does the future look like?
In many ways, the answer is: “Whatever the patients want it to look like.” And as time goes on, that diagnosis only becomes more true.
Because patients have more choices than ever before, healthcare organizations are being forced to adopt a much more “patient-centric” business model.
And for patients, while their first priority is excellent care, convenience is of nearly equal importance.
Life or Death of New Facilities
In response to the demand for improved services and greater convenience, healthcare organizations are opening all types of facilities, including primary care and urgent care centers.
However, before any healthcare organization opens a new facility, important questions such as the following must be considered.
- What services do our patients need most?
- Where should we locate our facilities for the greatest convenience to patients?
- What kinds of resources should I allocate for the new facilities?
With millions of dollars on the line, healthcare organizations have much to gain – or lose – with every single decision they make.
But as healthcare organizations take a close look at what their patients want and work hard to give it to them, many fail to recognize that patient data – when used properly – is the starting point to make the business stronger and more agile.
Patient Profiling: A Window with a View
Forward-thinking executives are using patient profiling and analytic technology to learn who their patients are, where to locate facilities to serve those patients and how to equip the facilities for maximum effectiveness.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of patient profiling is the objective view it provides of an organization’s patients.
It replaces gut feelings, intuition and inadequate demographic information with factual data, which is more descriptive and comprehensive.
Once the characteristics of the core patients are known, it is possible to analyze any market to find other people who share those same characteristics. When large concentrations of the core customer types are found, it could indicate a possible site for a new facility.
Patients are looking for a convenient location after all.
Assuring a Bright Future
In the new world of healthcare, patients are driving some of the most important clinical and operational decisions.
Through predictive patient modeling, healthcare organizations can adapt their services to the specific needs of their patient populations. Knowing who your patients are and exactly what they want can also offer a distinct advantage over the competition.
It seems clear that, for healthcare organizations of the future, predictive patient modeling – or the lack of it – will have a real impact on financial health.
At the end of the day, collecting patient data is just the starting point. It’s about using the data to change the way you do business in order to run a better, stronger and more efficient business.
Interested in learning more about how to adopt a patient-centric business model? Register for our upcoming 30-minute webinar “How to Apply a Retail Mindset to Healthcare” on June 25 from 10:30am – 11:00am.
