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Tuesday August 29, 2023

Building Community: Patient Engagement Solutions for Hometown Providers

In small towns, everyone’s a neighbor.

This holds true for small-town hospitals, as well. These facilities act as community hubs, where the lines between physician and patient are often blurred by familiarity.

As one of the larger employers in the area, and sometimes the only option for emergency care, these providers have a unique duty to their communities. How they project themselves, how they conduct business, and the quality of care they provide—all have an impact on their patients’ quality of life.

The leadership of these institutions recognizes the pivotal role that community relationships play in both the well-being of the community itself and the financial vitality of the hospital. While building this trust and reputation for excellence relies on the commitment of the entire staff, patient engagement is a critical part of the equation.

A Commitment to Community

While many community hospitals already provide a range of complimentary services aimed at enhancing population health and fostering enduring connections, programs like senior exercise classes and diabetes management workshops often only cater to specific subsets of the community.

Effective engagement extends far beyond a hospital stay or weekend class, encompassing new pre-care interactions, care episodes, and post-care follow-ups. The key to an effective approach lies in adopting pragmatic, cost-effective strategies and tools that engage a wider audience.

Patient Portals

By consolidating patient records and offering essential services like appointment reminders and bill payments, patient portals provide a unique and convenient way to manage care.

Compatible with any EHR and functional across the inpatient and ambulatory settings, our MU3-certified patient portal YourCare Community® helps bring continuity to the patient-provider relationship. Through a secure online gateway, both patients and providers can access personal health records and connect.

The provider side of YourCare Community allows clinicians to review patient records and manage direct communication with their patients. These features, plus a patient admin portal, help support a seamless flow of information between staff.

Strategic Marketing

In the age of social media, patients and inundated with health information, both credible and questionable. However, recent studies suggest that community hospitals remain a trusted source of information among patients. By leveraging this trust, facilities can effectively engage with potential patients before they seek care. A potent strategy involves cultivating an extensive community mailing list and disseminating a bespoke digital publication bearing the hospital's brand. This publication, tailored to a Community Hospital readership, not only educates but also forges a strong emotional connection.

MEDHOST YourCare Marketing offers digital marketing automation designed to continue engaging with your patients and community beyond just the four walls of the hospital. Our marketing solutions offer your facilities a low-cost and effective way to engage with patients and the overall community.

Price Transparency

Facilities in rural healthcare markets usually have lower prices than their urban counterparts.

Getting these competitive prices out there, especially during a tough economy, may make otherwise overlooked healthcare destinations more attractive to potential patients.

As a trusted partner in healthcare IT, MEDHOST can help facilities continuously engage with consumers through a public-facing, web-based search page that can be embedded on the hospital’s website, allowing a search of the 300 “shoppable services.”

MEDHOST Patient Engagement

MEDHOST has helped community hospitals all across the nation to transform their engagement approach. If you’re ready to take the next step, reach out to us at inquiries@medhost.com or call 1.800.383.6278. Together, we can shape a healthier and more connected future for the communities you serve.

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