Today, it can seem like almost anything can be done digitally. But as healthcare providers increasingly incorporate technology into their care, it is clear that sometimes there’s no substitute for genuine human connection.

Healthcare providers often see patients at their most vulnerable, when something has happened to their bodies that they don’t understand. So perhaps it comes as no surprise that the majority of patients wish they had greater control in managing their care.

In healthcare, as in many areas of life today, more and more people are turning to their smartphones when they want to get something done. According to a recent Harris poll, 59 percent of all health-insured patients—and 70 percent of millennial patients—said they would select a primary care physician who offered a patient mobile app over one that did not.

Is it time for healthcare to disrupt itself? We’d say so. Read on to find out how.

Physicians often find themselves coordinating follow-up care for their patients. Unfortunately, not all of them do it well.

Now, more than ever, customer service is essential in healthcare. A recent found that nearly all patient complaints—96%—were related to customer service issues; only the remaining 4 percent were about the quality of clinical care or diagnoses.

One-on-one meetings and personal phone calls are great ways for providers to stay engaged with their patients, but these traditional communications methods take time and cost money. Fortunately, new automated technologies are available to help healthcare systems stay closely involved with their patients without further depleting already stretched resources.

Attracting and retaining new patients is essential for the financial stability and growth of any healthcare organization.

The future is now for integrating automated patient technology into the patient experience. Recent studies have shown that most healthcare executives are ready to adopt – or have already adopted – automated patient technology to improve patient engagement, build loyalty, and cut costs.

Studies show that a significant number of patients are willing to leave their provider. Do you know how to keep that from happening?

When a patient has a long-term relationship with a practice or group, there are benefits on both sides.

Along with value-based care, patient engagement is one of the most visible and important pillars of the transformation now underway in healthcare. Developing a more-convenient, more-transparent approach to the patient journey is critical, both to the provider’s financial health and to the objective of improving quality while controlling costs.