Last year, I predicted that patient engagement software would overtake telemedicine software as the priority investment for healthcare providers.
This prediction was informed by reviewing traffic growth to both G2 categories from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until late 2022 and supported by the growing digital front door trend in healthcare.
While I may not be as clairvoyant as Disney’s Raven Baxter, my crystal ball didn’t let me down this time. Let’s look back at the 2023 healthcare trends prediction and see what G2’s data says about the state of patient engagement software.
What is the digital front door?
In healthcare, the digital front door is an engagement strategy that uses a comprehensive suite of patient engagement technology to improve a patient’s journey at every touchpoint. This emerging strategy reduces friction between systems, allows patients to connect with providers in between care through their preferred channel, and drives increased revenue and patient satisfaction.
A strong digital front door removes barriers to accessing care outside of healthcare facilities. This is becoming increasingly important as patients grow accustomed to digital convenience in their everyday lives.
Success relies on utilizing technology that patients are already familiar with. This creates a seamless experience with the least amount of products while not placing too much expectation on any one product to shoulder the burden.
As more healthcare organizations start to implement a new digital front door or overhaul an existing one, the need for cutting-edge patient engagement software will increase.
Effective products introduce smart automation to reduce staff time spent on low-value tasks, promote 24/7 self-service access to information and scheduling for patients, and employ conversational AI and tailored workflows to provide patients the answers they need with the least amount of effort.
Comprehensive patient engagement solutions make or break the digital front door
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, G2’s Telemedicine software category surged in traffic, reaching nearly 600% growth in March 2020 alone.
These virtual solutions kept care accessible for patients everywhere, given that healthcare organizations were only allowing on-site visits for medically necessary procedures. Since the pandemic, digital accessibility to care has only continued to gain steam.
Patients want the same level of convenience from their healthcare experience as they do with any other consumer relationship.
To do so, healthcare organizations need to understand the unique needs of their population and tailor a digital front door strategy that addresses those needs. The chosen solutions must be optimized to promote adoption at all levels of tech savviness.
Telemedicine is no longer the urgent solution needed, and now providers need to make sure they’re using the right patient engagement software to take their digital front door to the next level. Both contribute to the overall experience, but my 2023 prediction saw patient engagement overtaking telemedicine now that virtual visits aren’t the only option available.
The burden of usefulness is also lower for telemedicine compared to patient engagement tools; the main goal of telemedicine is to enable providers to have a virtual visit with their patients.
Patient engagement can range from full-service patient portals to marketing and reputation management, and even to comprehensive patient education resources. Providers must implement the appropriate product that has enough functionality and interoperability to support the entire patient journey seamlessly.
Buyer interaction with patient engagement software
G2 buyer interaction with patient engagement software is nearly six times the volume of telemedicine software in 2023.
While my 2023 prediction utilized G2 category traffic trends as its basis, I wanted to look at more meaningful metrics to signal a shift in buyer interest.
There was also not a significant change in overall category traffic for patient engagement or telemedicine between January 1, 2023, to December 15, 2023, when compared to previous years. While Patient Engagement category traffic is trending slightly more positively than Telemedicine category traffic right now, the disparity isn’t significant enough to vindicate my prediction.
G2 review volume for both categories paints a clearer picture, as the difference in total reviews between the two categories is significantly higher in 2023 compared to 2022. Patient Engagement also saw a growth in total reviews this year compared to last, while Telemedicine saw a decline in total reviews this year.
This huge disparity in review volume between the two categories in 2023 highlights that buyers are turning their attention to more relevant solutions to meet their needs, and prioritizing their adoption.
G2’s Patient Engagement category also added 31 new products this year, compared to only 14 for Telemedicine. While the latter is still an important component of the digital front door, it’s clear that patient engagement is playing a bigger role in transforming patient experience across the care continuum.
Patient engagement will reign supreme
In my prediction for 2023, I noted that patient engagement solutions are evolving to meet patients where they are and empower them to be active, informed participants in their care journey.
This goes far beyond a patient portal or branded mobile app; patients can receive personalized reminders to be more proactive in their care, easily engage with their care team, and efficiently navigate the billing process.
Buyers demonstrated increased interest in these solutions this year because patient expectations have shifted, and healthcare organizations need to adapt fast or be left behind. Telemedicine filled the need for virtual visit infrastructure, but its usefulness doesn’t extend much beyond there.
Patient engagement software, in contrast, supports every patient touchpoint throughout a care journey.
Providers know that improving health outcomes at a meaningful scale requires increased accessibility and reduced complexity.
Digital front door, and the patient engagement solutions that provide the foundation, will only continue to grow in influence in the coming years. In particular, buyers are now looking specifically for AI-powered features that automate tedious administrative workflows, help patients get answers faster, and streamline the often cumbersome billing process.
As shiny new solutions continue to proliferate this software market, buyers will need to do their due diligence to vet products. The growing volume of buyer engagement in G2’s patient engagement category during 2023 is a testament to this.
The future of patient engagement was emphasized during the 2023 HIMSS Conference in April 2023. Read our recap here.
Edited by Sinchana Mistry
by Rachael Altman
