Best practices from retail revolution fuel new approach by Steward Health Care
BOSTON, MA – When the largest community hospital network in Massachusetts set out to pioneer a new patient-user experience online, they decided to draw inspiration not from other medical industry players, but instead from the digital presence of major retail brands.
By partnering with technology providers who have helped build the online presence of brands like Puma, Timex, Warner Music Group, and more, Steward Health Care, a physician service organization with nine acute care hospitals in Massachusetts, has become the first major provider network in one of the nation’s leading medical markets to provide a fully mobile-integrated website that will deliver custom content for patients based on their prior in-site visits.
Achieving that distinction is both possible and necessary, Steward executives point out, because websites in the healthcare sector are lagging far behind other industries in embracing fundamental innovations to create an easier and more patient-centered online experience.
“The audiences that matter above all for the services and information we’re offering online are our patients and potential patients,” says Colleen Walsh, Director of Digital Communications for Steward Health Care. “As a community-based health care service provider, Steward is built around our patients, and that philosophy now extends to our presence online. By providing the level of user-oriented experience that consumers have come to expect from major retail brands, Steward is leading our industry towards putting the patient first – not just through the world-class care we provide, but through how we offer access to those world-class services.”
As a result, Steward Health Care, a national leader in health care delivery innovations, is now leading on a new front – pioneering a “patient-user experience” built to meet the highest of commercial standards. Input from hundreds of patients through surveys, interviews, and usability tests helped drive the creation of the new Steward.org. The custom response patient “dial pad” is amongst the marquee innovation within the new Steward.org; allowing patient-users to instantly find a doctor, make an appointment, or access medical information through the “StewardConnect” patient-user portal.
The two major technology partners engaged by Steward to help create a superior patient-user experience within the market were Acquia, one of the nation’s fastest growing private technology companies and a leading provider of cloud based digital experiences (Puma, Warner Music Group, Lush, Timex, and more), and Hatch 130, a New England based digital and creative service agency (NBA, National Grid, and more).
As part of their innovative move towards pioneering and prioritizing the patient-user experience, Steward has launched new sites across its entire network to introduce a seamless mobile experience for health care consumers.