AtlantiCare Adapts to Consumer Healthcare With a Digital Directory

The key to success in today’s business world is online presence, and that’s no different in healthcare. A healthcare organization needs to have an appealing and convenient entry to virtual care if it wants consumers to become patients.

That routine has changed considerably with the coronavirus pandemic, which pushed many services onto telehealth platforms and prompted consumers to think about what they could access online. In response, healthcare organizations are sprucing up the digital front door, with resources, directories and scheduling and registration services that can be access from mHealth devices in the comfort of one’s home or office.

“We’re seeing some dynamic changes in healthcare as a result of COVID-19,” says Christine Hayek, corporate director of operations for AtlantiCare. “Expectations are now built on being able to go out and find what you’re looking for,” rather than just showing up at the nearest hospital or clinic and expecting to be seen.

“We used to rely on insurance to tell us where we need to go,” she adds. “But that has changed.”

The New Jersey-based health system, which comprises more than 100 locations in the southern part of the state, recently enhanced its online platform in a partnership with Kyruus, a developer of digital provider search and scheduling solutions. The health system now has a centralized provider directory, giving consumers more robust search capabilities and better opportunities to match their needs with the right provider.

The health system now field more than 20,000 searches per month, four times more per month than when it launched the platform in 2019.

“Building trust is key to all these interactions,” says Hayek, who notes the online platforms benefits not only the consumers but providers as well. Close to 70 percent of those searches are organic, and roughly half of all online bookings are made with new patients – meaning this virtual platform is the first chance for the health system to demonstrate transparency and efficiency.

COVID-19 has taught both providers and consumers how to change the healthcare process. It has given consumers a good look at what they can and should be able to do with connected health platforms and tools at their disposal. Experts say the crisis propelled the healthcare industry 10 to 20 years ahead of the learning curve, forcing them to adopt strategies that have become second nature for other industries, like banking, retail and transportation.

Consumers “are far more engaged than they ever have been before,” says Hayek. And if they don’t see what they want from a health system like AtlantiCare, they’ll look elsewhere – to other providers in the area, retail clinics or telehealth services or platforms offered by the likes of Walmart, Walgreens and Amazon.

Hayek says it’s important to create a platform with well-designed templates, allowing consumers a virtual and touchless process while giving providers control over their own schedules. That’s why the health system is deliberately focusing on enhancing its online scheduling system. Its goal is to make it easy for a consumer to select an appointment slot with the most appropriate provider at the most convenient time for the individual.

“It’s a work in progress,” she says.

The online platform also has to reflect the trend toward hybrid healthcare, giving consumers the option to seek in-person care or telehealth, as well as an option for on-demand virtual care. And it should be able to handle insurance and co-pay verification, as well as offering opportunities for notifications and reminders.

Hayek says the online platform gives AtlantiCare more opportunities to not only deliver care but offer resources, such as a landing page with information about COVID-19. While being quick and easy, it should also be intuitive, helping consumers to make their own choices on their healthcare journey rather than just giving them a menu and asking them to place an order from what’s available.

“I’m loving the fact that (consumers) are more engaged,” she says. “This is where healthcare is going.”