Women’s health clinics today face the major challenge of staff shortages, made more difficult by limited resources and rising patient expectations for a wide range of services and a lifetime of personalized, consumer-like care.
Women’s health providers today are broadening their approach to care, not only providing OB/GYN care but also adding menopause management and endocrinology. According to the NIH, women’s health can also include cancer and diabetes, diseases that are not unique to women but may present with different symptoms and impacts than in men. Coordinating these services with limited resources is difficult, and finding enough women’s health specialists is a challenge that will only grow in the decades to come.
Even before the pandemic, experts predicted shortages of OB/GYNs, and post-pandemic, the situation has worsened. The Department of Health and Human Services reports that by 2030, the demand for OB/GYNs will exceed supply by approximately 5,000 full-time physicians. And the March of Dimes has investigated the issue, reporting that more than 2.2 million women of childbearing age live in so-called maternity care deserts without any obstetric care or providers.
Despite the staffing challenges, women’s health clinics must continue to serve patients. The Association of American Medical Colleges points out that women were historically left out of clinical research, a problem that is not yet fully rectified, despite the fact that women may experience different symptoms of disease and have different reactions to medications. According to a 2024 McKinsey report, women will spend an average of nine years in poor health, and this gap in women’s healthcare is driven by lower effectiveness of treatments for women, worse care delivery, and lack of data. Given this situation, women’s health clinics play a critical role, but how can they manage in the face of the growing provider shortage?
Going Digital with DataÂ
Technology isn’t the only answer for overcoming the obstacles women’s health clinics face, but, when designed and utilized correctly, it can streamline workflows, reduce administrative burden and improve both provider and patient satisfaction. Here are four strategic methods women’s health clinics can employ to alleviate some of the problems caused by the staffing shortage:
1.  Promote real-time data integration directly in the EHR
Documenting a patient’s test results and other data as soon as that information is available improves decision-making, lowers costs and enhances patient care. Similarly, access to information gleaned from medical devices and retrospective electronic health record (EHR) data can improve patient safety, inform clinical decision support and shape governance strategies.
EHR integration of real-time data helps providers give patients the top-quality care they seek. Clinicians can access comprehensive data collection on a patient’s overall health, resulting in a decrease in unnecessary tasks, tests and procedures, and with the most up-to-date information, they can make better clinical decisions, reducing the probability of costly medical errors.
Plus, when data obtained during digital check-in automatically flows into the EHR, administrative staff saves time. Clinicians can use that data to prepare for a visit earlier, making appointments more efficient. Â
2.  Utilize patient-entered, digital data instead of paper templates and staff-obtained data
When women’s health clinics ask patients to fill out paper templates, it’s a time-consuming process. Some patients fail to fill out the forms correctly, and front-office staff members occasionally make data entry errors.
Using digital patient-generated health data not only increases accuracy and saves time, vital for an overtaxed women’s health clinic, it also empowers patients and enables better patient care. For clinicians, it improves care delivery by enabling them to easily access important information about a patient’s status between medical visits. This data also creates a jumping-off point for providers and patients to engage in shared decision-making about preventive and chronic care management.
3.  Prioritize digital patient intake
Employing digital check-in during the patient intake process promotes streamlined registration and fast and easy retrieval of completed patient forms, insurance verification and any other steps specific to a clinic’s process. Front-office staff are free from time-consuming paperwork reviews and revisions, and clinicians get a more thorough and accurate look at patients’ medical history and medication status.
The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) notes that digital technologies such as patient portals, automated appointment reminder systems, check-in solutions and online payment options have achieved the most positive results in recent years for providers because they streamline practice workflow, improve patient experience and lead to more efficient and effective care delivery when implemented strategically. According to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), digital check-in decreases patient intake time by 20 percent.
Digital check-in tools also assist healthcare providers in optimizing patient scheduling, reducing patient waiting room time, decreasing patient registration errors and allowing front-office staff to focus their attention on more crucial administrative duties. The MGMA reports that “patient satisfaction often goes hand in hand with practice efficiency.” The benefits they outline from digital patient intake include:
- Reduced wait times minimize stress and disruption for patients and clinic staff
- Patients respond to personal questions more accurately at home where they have privacy and access to the information
- Staff identify and verify payer data and copays/deductibles in advance
- Providers see more patients with improved workflows
Digital check-in benefits patients as well as clinics. Patients increasingly seek a consumer-like healthcare experience similar to online shopping, with 61% of poll respondents reporting that they want the convenience of Uber or Amazon Prime from their providers. Checking in online, like other digital tools, streamlines life for patients.
4.  Use digital tools to engage with and educate patients
When provider organizations deploy digital tools optimally, these resources can increase consumer satisfaction, improve medication adherence and help consumers track and monitor their health. When patients are fully engaged in their care, they’re more likely to maintain treatment plans, track their health and ask their providers questions.Â
Some healthcare providers achieve increased convenience and accessibility in patient education by offering information about patient services within the check-in workflow. Using a dual opt-in method, patients determine if they would like to see any patient services. As services are presented, they have the choice to opt in or skip. At Kyruus Health, our cloud-based, HIPAA-compliant patient engagement platform automates and integrates patient access to alleviate administrative bottlenecks, helping deliver a more consistent, tailored and enjoyable patient experience across all touchpoints.
Women’s health clinics today are under pressure to meet the unique needs of their patients while dealing with staffing shortages and high patient expectations, but technology can help streamline clinic management while improving the patient experience.
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