Allied Digestive Health (ADH), a leading gastroenterology organization backed by private equity (Assured Healthcare Partners), is committed to creating a differentiated value for its patients and physicians through digital health platforms that directly impact care delivery and operations.
ADH has more than 130+ GI Physicians (220+ Clinicians, including Nurse Practitioners, Pathologists, Anesthesiologists, and Nutritionists) in New Jersey and New York. With the capital investment from AHP, ADH has become a technologically enabled practice that enhances business processes, facilitates patient access, and improves clinical metrics for its providers.
Patient Access Impact
As a part of its efforts to improve the end-to-end patient experience, ADH has prioritized establishing a seamless scheduling process. Online scheduling was implemented to allow patients to schedule directly in the practice management through the website (not a marketplace scheduling website like ZocDoc), enabling them to schedule with a provider twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week in a few clicks. It eliminates the need for calling offices and creates an avenue of convenience for the patients like they would book restaurants in their personal lives. ADH has also invested in an after-hours tech-enabled call service for patients seeking assistance during and outside of regular business hours that categorizes all the calls into different types such as scheduling, refills, etc., and if need be, redirects to physicians who are on call to address any emergent patient issue. ADH is investing in generative artificial intelligence (AI) to answer patient financial queries without the burden of a telephone call but through texting. When establishing an appointment, patients also can move their appointment up through their patient accelerator program as other patients cancel appointments.
Additionally, ADH has demonstrated its commitment to improving patient satisfaction with its prep management program for patients undergoing a procedure with the ability to get it delivered to the convenience of their homes. As part of the program, patients are assisted in all phases of the preparation process before, during, and after their procedure. As such, the process is simplified, and personalized communication is provided through SMS/phone reminders as well as online chat options. As ADH makes scheduling and preparation more accessible, faster, and more convenient, it can alleviate the stress of scheduling and make gastroenterology care more accessible for patients, especially Colonoscopy, which is still the gold standard in patient care
Optimizing Business Processes
ADH is committed to simultaneously driving systematic efficiency through process improvement. To improve accuracy and facilitate faster check-in, ADH has replaced traditional paper forms for patients by implementing a complete digital intake system that integrates into their EMR and practice management software. By utilizing artificial intelligence in coding and billing, they canimprove the accuracy and speed at which they bill, enhancing the availability of information to insurance companies and patients. It is alongside the implementation of ADH's new and optimized billing portal, making online payment options available to patients and significantlyreducing the workload. As part of their efforts to continuously identify operational inefficiencies, they have also invested in internal dashboards to increase transparency and identify operational concerns.
Clinical Quality Impact
From a provider standpoint, ADH actively optimizes internal clinical quality dashboards to improve patient care. This gives physicians greater insight and full transparency regarding crucial quality metrics, highlighting key quality improvement initiatives. To increase the rate of adenoma detection - a key indicator of clinical quality -, ADH has also implemented a computer- aided polyp detection system that utilizes artificial intelligence. ADH also uses artificial intelligence tools for clinical documentation, saving time and streamlining workflow processes. Thus, resulting in a faster turnaround time for notes, improved charting and coding accuracy, and an accurate collection process. With the adoption of new technologies, ADH is dedicated to advancing clinical quality outcomes.
With implementing new programs and prioritizing process improvement, ADH has significantly improved patient satisfaction and the end-to-end process from scheduling, completing intake, preparing for their procedure, and managing their bill. As part of ADH's commitment to improving patient communication, artificial intelligence tools have been implemented to facilitate patient queries without requiring a telephone call. From a business process standpoint, administrative tasks have significantly reduced through digital intake, and billing has become more seamless with AI coding and billing and online payment options for patients, and operational issues are easier to identify through internal dashboards. As a result, ADH achieved an overall net promoter score of 88% in 2022 from its patient survey. Providers can focus on providing comprehensive patient care and prioritize clinical quality metric performance through these improvements. Further, the organization can significantly improve overall productivity, allowing ADH to provide care to a larger population of patients, therefore increasing accessibility to gastroenterology care.
About Assured Healthcare Partners®
Assured Healthcare Partners® (AHP®) provides capital solutions supporting growth, consolidation, and repositioning opportunities in the healthcare services industry. AHP combines its flexible capital with company and sector-specific research, as well as an extensive industry network and internal team of specialized healthcare resources, to unlock value for portfolio companies and investors. For more information about AHP, please visit www.ahpartners.com.