Establishing Equitable Care: Advice From 13 Medical Leaders on Scaling in Healthcare (Part 5 of 5)

This is the fifth and final article of our five-part series on scaling healthcare practices with tips from 13 medical experts.

You can check out the first installment, Scaling Without Compromise, for background on the expected growth of the healthcare industry and a full guide to the series.

Part 4: AI and Your Practice navigated a question many practitioners have: When is the right time and place to use AI? We discussed how to get comfortable with AI in your field and offered some additional solutions to help build processes and efficiencies that can become standard practice.

Efficiency gained by AI and other technology is not the only factor in growing your practice. Another (sometimes overlooked) consideration is your ability to increase the number of people you can serve. None of that can happen without expanding how you reach a new pool of patients. Oftentimes, these are the most underserved and more vulnerable populations. This is where a focus on equitable care comes into play.

Get creative to meet customer needs

Dr. Danielle K. Miller, DNP, MSN, BSN, RN, explained that your most vulnerable patient populations may not always be able to take advantage of your services, even if they are offered for free or at a low cost. 

Dr. Miller, a former healthcare executive and founder of The Pivot Nurse, researched what factors impede patients from accessing care and said that providers need to find the patients who need care most and wrap services around them.

“If there was a clinic from 3:00-5:00 on a Thursday, that doesn’t help if the last bus route to stops running at 2:00. So maybe inclusive care looks like a late clinic or a Saturday clinic. Maybe it’s a clinic that people just walk in all day,” she said. 

“I have a former colleague who ran a clinic on the south side of Chicago. They picked two days a month and had an open clinic with regular lines out the door. These were the people who knew they needed to get their medication but struggled to make follow-up appointments. They knew they could come in on these days,” said Dr. Miller. 

Technology can be the impetus for more inclusive care

For patients in remote areas or those who have disabilities, financial constraints, or conditions that make accessing in-person care difficult, telehealth can be an equitable solution to accessing convenient, high-quality care. 

“Our AUD Care Pack, which includes teleaudiology services, has been instrumental in bridging staffing gaps,” said Jalene Nadeau, a hearing aid specialist and audiologist at ELEHEAR.

“It enables our professionals to consult with, provide remote adjustments for, and offer technical support to our clients, all from a distance. This technology increases our efficiency due to reduced commute times and extends our reach, allowing us to serve even those clients in remote locations.” 

Certain mental health conditions can limit the amount of information that therapists, psychiatrists, and other mental health providers can gather to best serve their patients.

Brie Scolaro, LCSW, Co-Director and clinical social worker at Aspire Psychotherapy, has found ways to use technology to help clients suffering from anxiety or depression.

“At Aspire Psychotherapy, we allow potential patients to ask questions confidentially via text messaging. This helps someone with anxiety or depression actually get the help they deserve, especially when the thought of making a phone call would typically prevent them from getting support,” they said.

“Our fully online practice management software allows patients to book, reschedule, and access billing documents again without having to call. It saves both the patient and the practice time and energy,” explained Scolaro.

But don’t abandon non-technical offerings altogether

Dr. Miller agrees that technology can be a crucial step in offering inclusive care but reminds providers that even in an increasingly digital world, technology doesn’t always make things more equitable.  

She recommends that practitioners take time to really understand the demographics behind their patient populations to determine how they should communicate and provide care. Dr. Miller wants to remind providers that this will not always be a one-size-fits-all approach.

“We may think that everyone has a smartphone. So you say to a patient, ‘Oh, download that app,’” she said. 

“But what about the folks that don’t have a phone? Or the ones who do but can barely dial on it? That’s not going to be beneficial for them. That’s where you may want to think about non-digital solutions like paper handouts for important information.”

Summary: How to make care more equitable

• Remember: There is not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution to inclusive care
• Expand or adjust practice hours to accommodate as many patients as possible
• Telehealth appointments can make it easier for some patients to access care
• Implement multiple ways for your patients to contact you (online, text, phone, in-person, etc.)
• While technology can improve access to care, remember some patients are limited in their access to technology

What’s next for the future of healthcare? 

Ultimately, great healthcare leaders understand that the best practices and institutions are growing because they’ve found the right ways to serve more patients efficiently and effectively. 

We’re committed to helping providers like Children’s Health Council and Transcarent improve their efficiency without compromising care or taking on compliance risks. 

Our healthcare customers saved an average of 79 hours per year per provider using TextExpander. You can start for free with a trial, or try it out yourself below.