Changes In The Home Health Industry: What You Need to Know

The truth is, home health is no longer an 8-5 job. What does this mean for your team? Here are the latest statistics from the medical industry.

If you’re working in home health, you know the field is constantly changing. One particular area that has significantly shifted in the last few years is your hours of operation. More likely than not, you’re feeling the pressure of changing scheduling practices and patient expectations. You’re feeling the day to day realities of being a physician. The truth is, home health is no longer an 8-5 job. Physicians have known this is true for a while, but it’s becoming the daily reality for medical office managers and administrative staff. What does this mean for your team? In this article, we’ll break down the latest statistics from the medical industry.

Scheduling

There has been lots of discussion about exactly what the rising popularity of self-service options means for your business, but this stat shows that the vast majority of patients still want to talk to a real person.

When it comes to doctor’s appointments that are less urgent and more about long term care, these patients won’t settle for scheduling appointments online. After preliminary research, they need an actual person to help them.

Physician Day to Day

While burnout can occur in any industry, it’s especially widespread in the medical industry. This statistic probably resonated with you. The scary thing is that this is just referring to burnout, which is an extreme state that leads to extreme stress, health issues, and likely to a career change. The fact that almost half of doctors reach this point is incredibly concerning.  

This stat definitely supports the info we know about burnout! With such a disparate difference between the number of doctors and patients, it makes sense that doctors are feeling immense pressure. It’s difficult to provide any care when patients outnumber doctors so heavily, nevermind excellent care.

Patient expectations

This is a huge wakeup call for medical professionals. If the vast majority of patients want to stay away from any practice, that definitely includes your practice. Don’t let this be bad news! You can become the exception to the rule here. Make a significant distinction between yourself and your competition by providing excellent customer experiences.

What’s your takeaway?

• Phone calls still matter a lot for a successful customer experience
• You’re under a lot of pressure as a medical professional
• Your patients are not happy with their current medical experiences
• An excellent patient experience, on their terms, is the most important thing

What does this mean for your practice?

You need to provide excellent patient experiences, you need to answer the phone, and you need to take non-essential tasks off your plate.

From connecting calls to the right on-call doctor to scheduling and integrating with your calendar and EHR software, our team is always accurate, compassionate, and professional.Our focus on confidentiality, data security and HIPAA compliant messaging has allowed us to help over 650 medical providers across the United States. We serve everyone: small family practitioners, multi-location speciality groups, and industry-leading hospitals. Learn more about what to look for in medical answering service or connect with us here. We’re ready to help your practice thrive.