Top KPIs to Track Patient Engagement

Introduction

For healthcare organizations, it is utterly imperative to track patient engagement. In a report, it came to light that healthcare organizations are underperforming on key performance indicators in the healthcare continuum. Healthcare professionals need to manage the institution and include patient engagement and patient retention as part of their strategy. Healthcare KPIs need to be tracked and measured to meet patient expectations and improve the overall experience. These KPIs need to be looked into to check if healthcare organizations meet patient standards. 

KPI or key performance indicator, simply put, is a type of measurement that understands how the company or organization is performing on a particular front. KPIs in healthcare collect information and help drive focus on essential areas. 

Benefits of tracking Patient Engagement KPIs

It is important to track patient engagement KPIs since it brings immense benefits to the organization. Some common benefits include- 

• Help offer better care and respond to patients better 
• Make decisions based on data intelligence 
• Improve accountability and transparency 
• Enhance patient satisfaction and effectiveness 
• Identify areas of improvement 
• Cut unnecessary expenses and increase revenue 

Top 11 Healthcare KPIs to track Patient Engagement 

If you are a healthcare provider wanting to understand and track patient engagement in greater depth, then below are the top KPIs that you need to keep an eye on: 

#1: Number of new appointments 

The number of new appointments is an important KPI that you must use to track patient engagement. You need to measure how many discussions became appointments and loyal patients. This will help analyze if the services are being delivered right. Patient engagement is the core aspect of the appointment funnel and hence you can gain a lot of insights. You can also finetune marketing activities towards appointments to encourage more booking and scheduling. 

#2: Patient wait time 

Patient wait time is the average amount of time a patient needs to wait before meeting a physician. Patient wait times must be short so that patients feel that their time is being valued. This is essential as it improves patient satisfaction, makes work easier for staff to handle patients, and ultimately builds trust. You can take the help of patient scheduling tools and solutions to reduce patient wait times, thereby increasing your retention rates.

#3: Communication between staff, patient, and physician 

Another KPI to track patient engagement is how frequent the communication is with all parties. The patient, staff, and physician need to be on the same terms with respect to the treatment and engagement. This communication must be omnichannel and empower all the parties involved. Improved communication is a great way to increase the quality of care. Patient communication is an important aspect of improving patient loyalty as well. So, effective communication is key to better engagement with the patient. 

#4: Patient Satisfaction rates 

Patient satisfaction rates measure how happy patients are with the quality of care- inside and outside the physician’s office. It permeates all the aspects of their association with the clinic. Patients usually respond in their feedback forms, surveys, or online pages about how they perceive their experience. 

#5: Social media mentions 

Social media management of health care practices has become imperative. The best judges of patient engagement are patients themselves. Patients usually voice out their bad experiences on social media. This is why it is necessary to keep track of mentions on social media, address online reviews, and manage a reputation online. 

#6: Patient lifetime value 

Patient lifetime value is a rough estimate of all the income you could accrue for your clinic if the patient is retained with you. The higher the lifetime value, the lower patient acquisition costs will be. LTV or lifetime value is a key metric to understanding any form of engagement and tracking patient engagement as well. If your patients are engaged and able to schedule appointments on time, they will stick with your health care clinic. 

#7: Patient Churn Rate 

Patient churn rate is a KPI that must be measured by any healthcare organization. Churn rate is the percentage of patients who choose not to be treated by the provider even though they are on a therapy path. Churn is inevitable. However, a high churn rate will only bring your revenue down. There is also a patient churn tolerance that healthcare organizations can handle. The patient churn rate must be curbed to improve revenue opportunities. If churn rates are high, there is a huge revenue loss. To lower high churn rates, health care organizations need to put special focus on patient satisfaction and patient experience. 

#8: Number of patient touchpoints or interactions 

Another KPI that tracks and measures patient-provider interaction is the number of interactions and touchpoints. Touchpoints and interactions are the core pillars of the patient experience. Clinics and healthcare institutions can optimize workflow by using digital portals. It is important to have an optimum number of touchpoints and ensure that they offer the right experience. Every patient prefers to be contacted in a number of interactions. This needs to be pre-decided so as to generate revenue and quality of experience. If you reach the patient at many touchpoints, they might feel like it is a big hassle. 

#9: Measuring patient engagement portals

Healthcare organizations that take patient engagement seriously are connected with patient engagement portals. Measuring the number of active and engaged users on a platform will help know how the tool is working as well as patient engagement levels. It is an important KPI to track patient engagement. Higher engagement means improved patient satisfaction and care delivery. 

With AI-powered engagement, it is simpler to provide patient satisfaction and ensure all queries are answered on time. Chatbots will help boost engagement rates and make the entire communication hassle-free. 

#10: Average call handle time 

To measure and track patient engagement, another KPI is the average handling time of calls. Average call handle time is the time the staff or front-desk representative spends with a customer. This call can be for anything- scheduling an appointment, rescheduling an appointment, clarity on medicines, concern about health, or follow-up care practices. The chat and talk time need to be effective and efficient. The average handle time needs to be optimized to provide insight into patient behavior. 

Not all patients may appreciate long and frequent calls from the healthcare provider. Making use of conversational technologies such as chatbots will cut down call handling times and provide the answers patients need. 

#11. Maximum Patient Recall Time 

Patient recall time is a metric that takes into account the length of the patient’s stay at the health care center. This KPI helps plan patient needs, budgets, and other expenses. Maximum patient recall time means the patient is satisfied with the service and chooses to return to the facility if need be. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Bottom Line 

Healthcare KPIs need to be measured to provide key insights into how the center is functioning and patients are engaged. You can deliver better patient care if you track healthcare KPIs. You need to set measurable targets so that benchmarking is possible. You can improve healthcare engagement if you choose tools like Emitrr; as improving patient engagement will further lead to increased patient loyalty. So, if you are looking forward to transforming patient engagement at your healthcare practice, it is time you book a demo with us.