Prevea Health Closes Gaps in Care, Reduces Costs Through Digital Patient Access
Client Case Study
Key Stats
- 48% of appointments booked were preventive visits
- 40% reduction in the no-show rate
The Challenge—Patient Access Gaps
Prevea Health was looking to improve patient access and close gaps in care for their diverse and rural population. However, there were challenges to achieving this. Scheduling appointments was traditionally done solely by phone during office hours. Patients relied heavily on physicians in traditional ambulatory settings. These adversely impacted patient experience and operational costs. Navigating patients to the right provider within their 350 multi-specialty group needed to be easier.
The Initiative—Transforming Access
Prevea sought to modernize their approach to patient access. The initiative was driven by management, with Dr. Ashok Rai, Prevea’s Chief Executive Officer and President, spearheading the initiative. Dr. Rai, an industry expert and proponent of patient-centric care, knew expanding access was vital. He wanted a frictionless experience that met and exceeded the demands of the digital healthcare consumer. This meant being able to seamlessly navigate and match patients with the right provider and care setting at the time they need care.
Prevea needed a digital patient access solution that could enable their initiative. After performing their due diligence, Prevea Health selected DocASAP for its online navigation and matching capabilities and real-time, accurate online scheduling. Patients searching for a provider could be matched to optimal care based on clinical needs, care setting, availability and insurance plans, among other factors. To ensure real-time, accurate scheduling, DocASAP replicates and automates provider-specific scheduling intake rules, protocols and workflows while integrating with Epic’s practice management solution.
With DocASAP’s ‘best practices’ approach to developing trust among providers, Prevea was able to get providers to buy into opening up their schedules. DocASAP’s scheduling capabilities enabled providers to retain control over their schedules and experience no disruptions.
Prevea initially launched online scheduling with DocASAP through health plan member-facing portals and apps, expanding access to care. They rolled out across primary care and specialties like OB/GYN and pediatrics, while adding on further specialties over time. Prevea then launched DocASAP across consumer touchpoints including www.prevea.com, Google My Business and social media. Together, these channels serve as robust digital front doors to welcome new patients to Prevea Health. The solution complements Prevea’s existing MyChart implementation by driving patients to Prevea’s website, where existing patients could schedule care either through Prevea’s find-a-doctor or through the MyChart patient portal.
Prevea also implemented DocASAP mobile-friendly reminders to help optimize appointment management. The patient-centered cadence of these actionable reminders, and their ability to allow patients to easily cancel and reschedule, allowed Prevea to reduce costs by decreasing no shows. Prevea intends to extend this capability across appointments not booked online to drive the same results across their medical group.
Findings
Closing Care Gaps
- 48% of appointments booked were preventive visits
- 46% of appointments were same-week visits
Reducing Costs
- 40% reduction in the no-show rate
- 5% reduction in overall call center costs due to online appointments