Cost management in leading health systems is top of mind for executive leaders as operating margins are under pressure. We polled COOs, CFOs, and CSOs, who unanimously listed cost management among their top 3 priorities in 2023. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still investing in consumer and digital strategic priorities like advancing the digital consumerism strategy and experience.
We’ve analyzed the data from our survey revealing how leading health systems decide which vendors to partner with for digital consumerism strategy and developed 7 recommendations for companies in that terrain.
Expect longer sales cycles, as cost management is top of mind
Companies pursuing contracts with leading health systems should expect longer sales cycles due to increased margin pressure and labor costs impacting leading health systems. Despite this pressure, leading health systems remain committed to their digital consumerism strategy in the long term.
Be sure to engage the right c-suite leader for the right initiatives within consumerism
Digital consumer strategy at leading health systems often involves multiple leaders pulling from multiple budgets. Seek out the Chief Marketing officer and Chief Information Officers but be sure to involve both as they both play significant roles in strategy and have budgetary oversight.
How to Adjust Your Selling Approach to Leading Health Systems When Discussing Cost Management
Start with a focus on patient access and experience
Leading health systems still have a lot of improvements to make in fundamental patient access and experience, but still need to take ROI into account with any new investment. What are you and your company doing to improve patient experience and access at a sustainable cost for health systems? If you focus on showing near term ROI while improving patient access and experience, you are more likely to win support from the C-Suite executives in your sales funnel.
Demonstrate long-term value through personalization
Longer term, our data shows that if a leading health system prioritizes personalization of patient experiences, they are more likely to see satisfied and returning customers. This means reaching patients through their preferred channel with messages specifically targeted to their unique needs. Can you help leading health systems reach their goal of personalization? If so, you are in a better position to be the long-term partner.
Cater to their EHR
Like it or not, EHR is the go-to consumer facing patient portal because health systems are already so deeply invested in it. Articulating how your solution complements its portal (versus outdoes it) while demonstrating further value in digital consumerism strategy may be key to securing the deal.
An essential aspect lies in prioritizing flexibility to effectively manage and integrate various data sources and enabling personalized experiences. A primary obstacle faced by health systems in implementing their digital and consumer-focused initiatives is interoperability. Therefore, these systems seek partners capable of demonstrating fundamental interoperability with their EHR systems. Leading health systems require partners who can go beyond basic interoperability and assist in standardizing, managing, and streamlining data from multiple sources such as EHR, Consumer Relationship Manager (CRM), and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) devices.
Continue to invest in enhanced value well after the contract is finalized
Consistently invest in demonstrating value even after the contract has been signed. Although leading health systems express considerable satisfaction with a handful of consumer digital solutions, they feel only moderately satisfied with the majority of others and are actively seeking replacements. To stay ahead of potential contract and business disruptions, it is crucial to remain proactive in understanding evolving customer needs and their ever-changing technology infrastructure. By staying ahead of the curve, healthcare organizations can effectively anticipate and address potential disruptions, thereby fostering a strong digital consumerism strategy.
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