Digital progress in healthcare: a decline in attention for the patient

Digitalization in healthcare offers many time-saving and functional advantages. But doesn’t this come at the expense of empathetic communication towards patients?

It would be undesirable if this technological progress meant a decline in attention to the individual patient. Because that is a big danger: that contact and content are less well tailored to the personal needs of patients.

Personal digital communication

This realization also exists among the healthcare institutions themselves, we notice through our customers. They actively look for ways to communicate as effectively and personally as possible via digital means, now that physical contact moments are less frequent and usually shorter.

What patients need first and foremost – and which can easily get compromised with digitalization and remote communication – is genuine attention to their personal needs.

Trust in the patient journey

A medical path in itself is stressful enough for the patient. That is why it is important that everything surrounding this path is as stable as possible and no additional tension is caused by poor information and communication. The patient needs certainty and trust.

The patient wants to know what he can expect and needs a healthcare institution that he can rely on for his well-being. He wants to feel like he is in good hands and that there is genuine attention for his personal situation.

You can achieve this by being there for the patient at all relevant moments in the patient journey, with clear information, presented with the right feeling; and in general with empathetic communications that provide a positive experience.

Clear information that gives peace of mind

Providing the patient with the right information has an important emotional impact on the patient journey. In many cases, the patient will experience more peace of mind if he knows what to expect. You can convey this mental image very effectively with targeted video use within your digital communication.

You can use video to literally show what the treatment, preliminary phase, aftercare or digital environment looks like and answer the most common questions or remove concerns. Questions such as: ‘How do you make an appointment in the digital customer portal?’, ‘What does the day of treatment in the hospital look like?’, ‘How long does the treatment or operation take?’, ‘How long can my husband/girlfriend/supervisor stay with me?’, ‘What should I keep in mind when I return home after the operation?’, ‘How many follow-up checks will there be?’. But also one of the most obvious questions and concerns: “Does it hurt?”

Information and emotion: for a strong relationship

Due to the many stylistic and content related possibilities of video, you can generate a very targeted emotional response. This also applies to informative videos, to which you can add a reassuring atmosphere, making the viewer feel connected to your organization.

Ultimately, it is the combination of informing and emotionally addressing the patient throughout his entire journey that ensures the desired positive experience.

Our collaboration with the hospital Erasmus MC is an example of this. We have used videos for them to promote their relationship with dermatology patients. In these videos, patients are informed about operations, instructions for applying lotion, but also about the reception in the hospital.

Authentic stories from other patients or doctors are also effective in reassuring viewers. For example, potential clients for plastic surgery clinic Samkliniek receive information from doctors about treatments, including answers to frequently asked questions. With the option to contact them.

In addition, it can be very valuable to create video content that is primarily intended to connect emotionally with the patient and strengthen the mutual relationship. Such as sending a video by e-mail in which you wish the patient good luck with the operation.

This makes the patient feel seen and heard and positively influences his appreciation of you as healthcare organization.

Trust, peace of mind and a good relationship with the patient

If healthcare institutions are there for patients at essential moments in the patient journey, they will not only experience peace of mind throughout this journey, but they will also be more likely to have a positive feeling about the healthcare organization and its employees.

In short, healthcare institutions can digitalize without worry. When using video at the right moments, digitalization does not have to come at the expense of personal contact and connection. On the contrary.