Does your portal satisfy the consumer needs of your members?

Don’t be so sure. Consider the X factor.

Healthcare: No need for a different drummer, after all

Healthcare is nothing like other industries. Therefore, healthcare organizations don’t need to offer the same types of online experiences to consumers. This long-held thought (excuse) is, for lack of a better term, hogwash.

In fact, according to a study from McKinsey and Co., consumers want their online healthcare experience to provide the same “oohs and ahhs” as well as convenience and capabilities as their forays on popular consumer sites. Think Amazon, Netflix and eBay.

The problem: Healthcare organizations – including health plans – are not

meeting consumer expectations. In fact, a recent survey shows that only 21

percent of members actually use their health plan’s portals on a regular basis.

So, how can health care organizations better meet consumer needs – and

actually offer online experiences they will gravitate toward? The answer is

obvious: Act like consumer companies. The whole walk-like-a-duck, talk-like-

a-duck, look-like-a-duck argument. After all, in the final analysis, health plan

members are consumers so it makes sense.

In this e-book, we explore the challenges more closely. And, we lead you

toward defining that certain X Factor that will make your portals as chill

as anything out there.

Only 21% of members actually use their health plan’s portals on a regular basis.

Member Portals: X = Cool While it may seem obvious, it is critical to remember that your health plan members are consumers.

They shop in stores, they purchase items online, they eat at restaurants.

They use smartphones, relying on apps for everything from getting a ride

to tracking their expenses to organizing a party. As such, they are well

acquainted with all the slick online experiences that are to be had while

interacting with cool consumer companies.

You need the same swagger. After all, your members expect their healthcare

experiences to be up to the same standards. Uh-oh. You say you’ve been

operating under the assumption that you didn’t have to play by the same rules?

Better start changing your ways. Member portals must be designed with

the same sophistication and flair as consumer sites. The upshot? Healthcare

portals need to take into account all of the elements that can make a

satisfying experience – color, visual design, navigation and clear content.

The recent Pokémon Go phenomenon illustrates just how important such

consumer-centered design really is. Indeed, in the weeks after the game was

released, some 30 million users spent about $35 million on app purchases1

while the typical player spent an average of 50 percent more time than the

average user spends in Facebook.2 Do you want to know what was behind

this success? The game – which was meant to help people get more exercise

and, therefore, improve their health -- relied on sophisticated user

interfaces, provided a social experience, and offered an introduction to

virtual reality. As a result, the app produced some of the fitness goals that

other healthcare technologies failed to achieve.

Member portals must be designed with the same sophistication and flair as consumer sites.

1.Evangelho, J. ‘Pokémon GO’ Claims Twice The Daily Use Of Facebook, Most First-Week Downloads On iOS. Forbes, July 22, 2016. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2016/07/22/pokemon-go-now-has-twice-the-daily-usage-time-of-facebook-eating-into-youtube-engagement/#1438bf123f04

2.Nunnely, S. Pokemon Go has earned $35 million thanks to its 30M users VG 24/7, July 2016. https://www.vg247.com/2016/07/20/pokemon-go-has-earned-35-million-thanks-to-its-30m-users-per-intelligence-firm/

Member Portals: X = Convenience

While cool might help to get health plan members to the online table, practical will keep them coming back and have them eating out of your hands.

“Members want to be able to access everything they need from their health plan in one, easy to navigate location,”

according to Sean Downs, CEO for Healthx. “When plans start bolting on

more and more functionality from multiple vendors, the UI can become a

big, convoluted mess. We jokingly refer to it as the ‘Frankenportal.’ At the

core, make things easy to find for your members, and easy to access.”

The problem: In a recent survey, 70% of respondents said they were not able

to find answers to most of their healthcare questions through their plan’s

portal without having to make a phone call.

The takeaway? Your portal needs to offer easy access to all the information

that a member could possibly want.

Transparency is key. Let’s make this clear: You’ve got to give your members

what they want today, what they want tomorrow – and what they don’t even

know they want but will need in the future. Unambiguously, that’s a lot of

wants. Health plans need to offer access to functions that can provide

improved convenience such as online benefit enrollment, ID card validation,

online premium payments, primary care provider selection – and even

pricing information. Offering some premium functions such as online

wellness, care management and telemedicine applications also could drive

members to the portal. Bottom-line: The more you offer, the better.

Only 30% of respondents said they were able to find answers on their portal without making a phone call.

Member Portals: X = Clinical and Chronic Care

Members want to take care of business when visiting online portals – but they also want to take care of their health. After all, that’s what they are “buying,” isn’t it?

Health plans need to dig a little deeper when developing their portals.

Instead of just providing access to information, you need to provide a vehicle that can help members speedily manage – and maybe even improve – their health. Think personalized fitness trackers, medication lists, calorie

counters, and so on. You could take it even a step further by collecting this

information and providing personalized education based on each member’s

goals and health needs.

Why not go all the way and provide some online clinical services and coaching?

Indeed, real time care management and telemedicine applications could

turn your portals into the destination of choice for your members. You could

be that house on the block with the pool table, game systems and stocked

fridge – where all the cool kids hang out.

Think personalized fitness trackers, medication lists, calorie counters, and so on.

Member Portals: X = A Plan for Success

Simply building a portal that offers everything a member could want is great and all – but it is not really enough. You’ve got to have a plan. And, you need to work it. That’s the only way you’ll get the adoption and utilization that your bright, shiny portal deserves.

To start, you need to make sure your portal is easy to access – anywhere,

anytime. In addition to being able to jump on to the portal from a desktop,

members need to have the ability to access the portal from secure, mobile apps. And no, this doesn’t mean they’re using your worn-out,

non-responsive website.

Once you’ve made it easy for members to access the portal, you’ve got to encourage them to take action. To start, you can drive member engagement

simply by providing the online portal address on communications such as

e-mails, direct mail letters, enrollment materials and even the back of health

plan identification cards. continued...

You need to make sure your portal is easy to access – anywhere, anytime.

Member Portals: X = A Plan for Success

Your customer service programs can also drive utilization by focusing on the following four areas:

1) Awareness• Provide an automated phone greeting that tells members about the portal

• Train customer service representatives to always mention the portal during

conversations to make members aware of its existence and functionalities

• Make sure that the portal has an easy-to-use and easy-to-remember name

2) Incentives• Provide members with an incentive to use the portal – for example, gift

certificates to a department store, movie theatre or restaurant

• Encourage customer service representatives to drive members to portals

with incentives – for example, providing a pizza party for every 1,000

portal visits

3) Convenience• Don’t hide your content – make sure the portal provides easy-to-find,

immediate access to needed documents

• Train customer service representatives to help members create

an account on the spot

4) Value• Make sure customer service representatives can articulate the value

of the portal when talking to members

• Enable customer service representatives to use the portal as they are

working with members in real time

Awareness Incentives Convenience Value

Conclusion: Live in the now

Several years ago, a member portal was simply a checkbox on the health plan’s list of things they felt they needed at the time. And they may have been able to build their own rudimentary portal or use a simple add-on portal from their claims vendor. Those days are long gone. With consumerism and the demand for more service from health plans, these portals no longer fit the bill. Think about your own personal use of the

internet. Would you go back to Amazon.com if it was as difficult to find what

you were looking for as it is on many health plan portals. Neither would most

consumers. Did we mention that health plan members are consumers?

About HealthxAt Healthx, we put our nearly 20 years of industry experience and best

practices to work to serve the needs of more than 185 healthcare payers

representing 24 million members and 700,000 providers. We develop and

implement secure, cloud-based member-centric digital portals that connect

payers with members and providers. We partner with commercial health plans, third-party administrators, employers and brokers to build comprehensive, configurable solutions that improve clinical, operational and financial performance. Through our platform, our customers can close

gaps in care, achieve regulatory compliance, improve quality ratings and

reduce costs. Our customers achieve a rapid return on investment by moving

more transactions from costly channels to efficient online portals. For more

information, visit us at www.healthx.com.

You have the opportunity to provide the same caliber digital experience as your favorite retailers. What’s holding you back? Click here to find out more about our free portal and strategy session.

© 2017 HEALTHX I 9339 Priority Way West Dr. I Suite 150 I Indianapolis, IN 46240 I 877-492-3633 I info@healthx.com