🤞 Please don't make this common digital front door mistake.

Maybe a digital front door (DFD) isn't all about the patient. Surprising, right? Patients might actually be just fine completing their paperwork the traditional way. In some cases, it could even be faster. They might cherish that warm reminder phone call from a real person. And believe it or not, they might not be thrilled about juggling another login that is (basically) to the provider's scheduling system.

Prioritizing the patient experience alone when building a digital front door is a glaring oversight.

If your DFD fails to bring significant improvements in efficiency and productivity for clinicians and staff, you're staring at a net loss. Consider the bigger picture: patients grapple with a new tool they seldom use, while providers—who interact with the system almost every hour—are left with no tangible benefits.

For a DFD to truly succeed, it must do more than merely digitizing the patient interface. It should be a comprehensive tool that assists in streamlining clinical processes, reduces administrative burden, and ultimately enhances overall care delivery.

Why the Provider's Experience Matters

While it's understandable that healthcare organizations want to enhance patient experience given today's competitive landscape, the reality is that providers and their teams are the backbone of any healthcare system. They are the ones neck-deep in the software, day in and day out. A study from the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association reveals that providers spend over half their day on EHR tasks.¹ Any inefficiency in this system is magnified, leading to increased operational costs and, worse, provider burnout.

Balancing the Digital Scale

Patients want simplicity and efficiency, but so do providers. A balance must be struck. No one is suggesting that the patient experience doesn't matter; not in the least. But we have to recognize that providers have been asked to adapt and compromise for years; a well-crafted DFD finally provides an opportunity to give them a solution that makes their life easier.

Asking the Right Questions

When selecting a DFD partner (or building one yourself), make sure to ask questions from the provider's perspective. For example:

• How will this data be incorporated into the EHR?
• Will we need to enter this data again manually?
• Can this information populate directly into my clinical note?
• Will this reduce waiting room times?
• Could this inconvenience my patients and negatively impact my satisfaction ratings?
• Will this tool save time for my team?

Conclusion

Building a digital front door is more than just offering a flashy patient landing page. It's about creating a comprehensive system that streamlines operations, reduces inefficiencies, and offers tangible benefits for both patients and providers. Before setting out on your DFD endeavor, ensure you don't tip the balance so far in one direction that you've forgotten the other—and left the doctor the bill.

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References:

1: Tethered to the EHR: Primary Care Physician Workload Assessment Using EHR Event Log Data and Time-Motion Observations - PubMed (nih.gov)

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