Streamlining Patient Engagement in Women’s Health through EPM Tools

Patient engagement in women’s health is an ongoing challenge. Women tend to be less involved with their healthcare providers, treatment plans, and even routine checkups than their male counterparts. Research from Deloitte shows that women are 35% more likely to admit to delaying or skipping medical care.

Some factors impacting this could be barriers to women-focused care. Gender bias in healthcare is an issue, as is the affordability of care. It’s no exaggeration to state that practices and clinics that find ways to encourage engagement could be saving and extending lives.

Experts believe that improving patient engagement and empowering them in their healthcare journeys can enhance health outcomes. Your electronic practice management (EPM) software could provide you with the tools to engage with women faster, more effectively, and with more compassion. Let’s take a look at the key benefits of women’s health practice management solutions.

Changing Technology and Women’s Health EPM Tools

A recent study showed that while the effectiveness of women’s health technology is increasing, it still needs to be more inclusive, relevant, and health-outcome-driven. When it comes to patient engagement strategies, women’s health has specific challenges. Clinicians need to be able to quickly log and report on fertility, menstrual cycle data, women-specific cancers, and menopause-related conditions. 

A one-size-fits-all EPM just isn’t fit for every purpose. Finding loopholes by typing freeform notes into a generic field instead of filling out topic-specific templates leads to poor communication and missed details — and a woman not receiving the treatment she needs. Effective EPMs should include reporting tools, financial aids, and women’s health patient communication software — bringing everything together to streamline your practice’s workflows.

Both EPM and EHR (electronic health record) software tools can now be tailored to your specialty. There’s no need to struggle on with templates and reports that don’t add value to your practice or help you better manage your revenue cycles. Improving patient engagement with EPM tools is simpler when you work with experts who can help you customize software to your needs.

How Effective Practice Management Boosts Patient Engagement

EPM software for women’s health clinics is most effective when it meets patients where they want to be. NextGen research shows that patients overwhelmingly:

• Use and want to use telehealth services 

• Require 24/7 access to general health advice

• Don’t want to wait on the phone

• Want to manage their own appointments and treatment schedules

• Prefer to communicate in ways that suit them, e.g., text or email

When it comes to streamlining patient engagement, healthcare tools with the ability to provide online portals are essential. Women can log in at their leisure and quickly see what appointments are available, who they’re with, and even access details on existing treatment programs, where appropriate. You may even have the facility to allow patients to send requests and queries to an on-site or remote doctor or nurse. 

Women’s Health Clinic Management Software Essentials

EPM benefits for women’s health practices are optimized when the software provides features specific to your specialist. Critically, every point of patient contact must be recorded, although this is more the realm of the EHR system. But EPMs can help you understand when you’re contacted most often, the reasons for that contact, and pain points you can address with minor changes.

For example, if women are frequently calling in regarding the date and time of cervical cancer screening (pap smear tests) booked months in advance, that could be a simple fix. Automate your EPM to send texts with the date and time a week and a day before the appointment. In addition to reducing phone calls and admin, you’re helping these women remember to get a potentially life-saving screening test. Plus, your patients feel more engaged and more cared for, which, as we’ve already seen, can increase the likelihood of positive healthcare outcomes. 

When choosing your EPM system, consider the following questions:

• Will patients be able to log appointments?

• Does this system have women’s health-focused templates and workflows?

• Is it customizable to our specialty?

• Are there simple ways for women to contact us via these systems?

• How secure is this EPM, and is it HIPAA compliant?

The more focused your EPM is on your specialty, the more likely you are to engage successfully with your patients. You’ll reduce the burden on your personnel and potentially reduce costs by minimizing repeat calls, appointments, and unnecessary or incorrect treatment plans. 

How TempDev Can Help Support Engagement in Women’s Health

Digital tools for women’s health engagement become more effective when you work with consultants who understand your patients’ needs. The team at TempDev has worked with numerous women’s health professionals and teams, helping them tailor their NextGen systems to provide better outcomes for patients and improved value for healthcare settings. Our work with Planned Parenthood, for example, included direct work with NextGen and partners to ensure family planning content was front and center in EPM reports.

Other clients have commented on the financial benefits of women’s health-focused workflows:

“Our team was crushed under the weight of delayed posting charges and payment postings. After working with TempDev, our revenue cycle now moves smoother than ever, and we’ve increased our receivables!” Revenue Cycle Coordinator, A Women’s Health Organization

For streamlining workflows, improving revenue cycle management, and enhancing patient experience, women’s health EPM tools are essential. Discover more about how we can tailor your practice management tools by contacting us online or calling 888.TEMP.DEV.