decision to visit and log on to the website. Portals are usually good
resources for patients, but in terms of patient engagement, much
more consistent, ongoing communication is possible, particularly via
mobile apps that can push alerts to the patient and always be easily
accessed with the touch of a finger. That more lively communication
can get patients even more engaged with their health and your prac-
tice. An app can guide patients through an entire episode of care,
sending reminders of upcoming appointments, when it's time to take
medications, how to prepare for surgery, do their rehab and much
more. An app might connect to a wearable device that sends rehab
data back to a monitoring physician. The patient might enjoy the abili-
ty to chat with or message a clinician straight from their phone. Of
course, privacy and HIPPA compliance are mandatory; these safe-
guards should absolutely be baked into the patient engagement soft-
ware you choose.
Patient engagement technology can provide the following functions:
• Filling out preadmission forms. No patient enjoys sitting in a
waiting room, balancing a clipboard on their legs while their hand
cramps up writing endless information on page after page of forms.
Providing the patient with a tablet to fill all of that out might save
them some aggravation, but that's still wasted time in the facility.
Using an app or website to fill out all of those forms beforehand is a
convenience that patients will likely appreciate, especially when their
minds are so heavily focused on their surgery the day they visit you.
• Appointment reminders. Keep your schedule moving with auto-
mated patient reminders via text message, email, app alert or auto-
mated phone calls.
• Direct communication. No more phone tag; apps can enable
patients to directly and securely message surgeons and other clini-
cians. You might even introduce a telehealth component that might be
6 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A U G U S T 2 0 1 9
