BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Online Health Hub Helps Set Stage for COVID-19 Readiness at Kansas City Hospital System
The coronavirus pandemic is forcing Kansas City health care consumers to rethink their normal behaviors to preserve scarce resources, maintain social distancing and flatten the curve. Thankfully, one local provider had already created a communication infrastructure to help guide them.
AdventHealth first rolled out its all-encompassing online platform as a vehicle to pair providers with patients. A few years in and MyHealthKC.com was already demonstrating strong results, attracting more than 1,300 new consumers for the Merriam, Kansas, system.
Fast forward to today and the website is serving as a useful tool to disseminate information about the pandemic and where to seek care. With hundreds of new primary care relationships, AdventHealth has a well-worn path, allowing its hospitals to steer individuals away from busy emergency departments and toward virtual alternatives.
“Our message to patients is that we are open, we are available and we are taking every precaution we can to keep you, as well as our doctors, nurses and other folks safe,” said Doug Spear, executive director of marketing and strategic development. “If it’s a nonemergent situation, schedule a video visit, talk to your physician’s office and isolate yourself. That’s the biggest thing. We want to stem the spread of it, but certainly if it’s a situation where you feel your life is at risk, call 911, come into the emergency room and get the care you need.”
The History
MyHealthKC.com was first established in 2016 as a Match.com-like platform that pairs patients with primary care providers in an uber-competitive marketplace. Strategy leaders envisioned it as a means to expand the customer base and move away from traditional marketing campaigns.
AdventHealth anchored the first phase of its project with a 12-question survey, posed to both patients and providers. They’ve used this quick quiz and an accompanying algorithm to determine what makes individuals tick and establish stronger provider-patient bonds. Designers also added the ability to filter results and help care-seekers select physicians that best match their preferences.
“Consumers want something in common with their physician besides just their health,” said Bob Waddell, co-founder and vice president of MD MatchUp, which helped AdventHealth design the platform.
Phase two has focused on bolstering MyHealthKC’s content while also adding other physician specialists, beginning with OB/GYNs. Information added to the website has included everything from blogs to healthy living guides, recipes and local events.
This engagement strategy appears to be paying off, Waddell said. New MyHealthKC patients have averaged 5.53 online encounters with the system since 2016. That’s compared to about 3.01 encounters for typical new patients across the system.
Gaining physician buy-in was tough, particularly with provider profiles incorporating Press Ganey survey results alongside video biographies and patient reviews.
“That was something that many did not embrace,” said Spear. “We held meetings with every single physician group to get them on board, while at the same time explaining the legitimacy of the survey that’s matching them to certain patients. It was a long process, but eventually we got through it.”
The numbers seem to back that claim: 71 percent of providers see MyHealthKC as an effective marketing tool, and job satisfaction measures have trended upward, as doctors treat more patients with similar values.
Pandemic Prep
AdventHealth Shawnee Mission is now working on Phase three of its rollout, focused on population health. In the meantime, the hospital system continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spear said they’ve pushed information and resources out to constituents through MyHealthKC, including how to access care. If in-person services are essential, they’re sharing detailed instructions on calling ahead, where to arrive and how to navigate to limit the virus’s spread.
Waddell himself had a cough, but thanks to established relationships he was able to phone his primary care provider for advice, resulting in him staying home rather than visiting an emergency department. He believes such connections will be vital once the pandemic’s pall clears and patients resume their normal patterns.
“Coming out of this, people will want to seek out primary care providers (PCPs) more than they did in the past, especially younger folks who never had a PCP before and just depended on urgent care,” Waddell said. “I think you’re going to see more people wanting to establish those relationships. So, figuring out a way on the front end to prequalify people with compatible providers is a great way to prepare for what comes next.”
This article features interviews with:
Doug Spear
Executive Director, Marketing and Strategic Development
AdventHealth Shawnee Mission
Merriam, Kansas
Bob Waddell
Co-founder and Vice President
MD MatchUp
Leawood, Kansas
Image credits: istockphoto.com/fizkes & istockphoto.com/aj_watt
