According to Spencer Kay, President and CEO, Fastrack Healthcare Systems, the key data that companies capture should allow them to categorize clients by different product groups relevant to the patient, birth dates and revenue generated by product and location.
“By classifying their patients by product types (i.e. diabetic, urology, etc.) providers should be able to mail and e-mail new product information and promotional offerings to specific patients,” says Kay. “They should also be able to send out birthday cards and other notices that keep their business in front of the patient as often as possible. This holds true of referral sources as well. Sending out relevant product and services information may help generate new patient referrals. Their software system should also have the reporting tools that allow them to analyze which products are generating revenue and profits as well as the referral sources and sales reps responsible for the business.”
Ty Bello, president and founder, Team@Work, agrees that referral trends are important to capture. “The best data that a software system can provide to an HME is the referral trending of the referral sources and provide this in an easy-to-read and access capability,” he says.
Mike Clark, director of operations, Definitive Homecare Solutions/CPR+, says providers can leverage software systems and the data collected in many ways. Providers should be able to report by patient services; ensure patients know about related services the HME offers; and provide an easy way to re-order products or related products that the HME offers. He notes that CPR+ offers a custom patient web portal that lets patients submit orders through the HME’s website.
And for referral partners, Clark says that an HME software system should be able to provide reports of patients by referral source along with services associated with those patients. Using that information, HME providers can identify referral sources that are referring patients for limited services and products and make sure the referral source knows all of the services that can be supplied by the HME provider.
“HME providers can further use their HME software as a means to differentiate themselves from competitors,” Clark says. “Referral partners want to know that the HME provider is providing the best care for the patient, and they want ways to make the patient management and referral process easier.”
Chris Watson, chief marketing officer, Brightree, says, “With the rapidly changing reimbursement climate, product profitability data is one of several key data points that providers should collect and monitor. Being able to input actual cost of goods sold and revenue gives providers vital information for tracking and predicting their success.”
According to Watson, the Brightree platform can help providers understand which products are more profitable than others, and, therefore, which products to push to the forefront of their marketing initiatives. A new capability of the software helps providers better track performance results by rep, referral source or product.
“An important part of any marketing effort is good business intelligence — understanding which products are most profitable and which referral sources are strongest,” Watson says.
Many of today’s software systems have built-in marketing tools that let providers mine data to target segments of a customer base.
“Systems like Fastrack have e-mail and fax capability that allow providers to send out information to patients, referral sources, physicians, etc.,” says Kay. “Fastrack can also allow each patient to be classified by multiple product categories for targeted direct mail campaigns, capture birthdays in order to send out birthday cards, and, through an order scheduling module, alert the provider when it is time to call the patient to see if they need a ‘next’ delivery of supplies.”
In the world of digital marketing, e-mail campaigns and compatibility with e-mail campaign software are critical.
“CPR+ for HME can export e-mail lists by various categories and filters for export to most e-mail marketing software,” says Clark. “However, because privacy and security laws restrict e-mail content, it is important to offer secure web access to patients and physicians that can contain information, such as the patient’s current and prior orders, that cannot be provided via e-mail.”
It is key to understand the legal guidelines that govern the marketing and use of patient data. “The provider must be aware of all HIPAA guidelines in safeguarding patient data,” Kay says. “When e-mailing promotional materials, the provider should have patients’ permission to contact them for this purpose and offer an opt-out capability.
“With HIPAA and the HITECH Act changes, providers need to be aware of two important restrictions,” he continues. “First, the privacy and security rules require providers to implement appropriate security procedures to protect the confidentiality of patient information. While HIPAA doesn’t strictly prevent the sending of even identifiable health information in e-mail, sending such information as a broad marketing campaign and meeting HIPAA requirements is between impractical and impossible. That means that providers have to either limit their e-mail messages to patients to information that does not contain protected health information of the patient or provide a secure means of communicating with the patient.”
So, make sure you read the HIPAA guidelines and HITECH act and consult with legal counsel about rules governing patient marketing.