Healthcare is full of data. Here's how to utilize it.

Digital health has become a hot topic lately. With the abundance of health data available from electronic health records, personal fitness apps and devices, and home genome test kits, we now have the potential to gain valuable insights into our well-being and take appropriate action.

However, simply having vast amounts of data is not sufficient. It's crucial to be aware of what data we possess, comprehend its significance, and act upon that understanding. While the United States faces particular challenges due to its fragmented healthcare system, similar obstacles exist in healthcare worldwide.

So, how can we tackle this issue? We turned to Steven Aldrich, Co-CEO of Ragnarok agency, for his insights on how healthcare brands can improve their digital health. 

Here's what Steven shared:

Step 1: Define Standards

The primary purpose of digital health in healthcare is to enhance the patient experience, which often extends to their family members and caretakers. Before delving into data analysis, it is crucial for organizations to establish their standards of excellence upfront. This ensures a clear understanding of what a robust data architecture should support at a high level. Standards of excellence might include:

• Effective communication with customers throughout their journey, providing clear information on their current status and what comes next.

• Building relationships and facilitating two-way communication for seamless interaction between patients, providers, and other stakeholders.

• Establishing quantifiable measures of success that are easily accessible to business owners for progress tracking and deriving meaningful insights.

Step 2: Data Audit

Once you have set your desired standard, the next step is to document your existing data infrastructure. This involves identifying where your data resides, who has access to it, and how it is currently being used. Legacy analytics systems often suffer from sluggishness and incompleteness, leading to blind spots that obscure vital insights. Consequently, this creates gaps in understanding the true customer journey and hampers effective action.

Step 3: Data Strategy

After assessing your current data landscape, it's time to develop your future state strategy. This entails crafting use cases that address the identified gaps and align with your business goals. Document the following:

• What data do you need to track and why?

• What new programs or initiatives should you launch that are not feasible with your current setup?

• What is your vision for data accessibility and the stakeholders who should have access?

At this stage, you'll likely generate a comprehensive list of requirements that will be subsequently refined and prioritized by project owners.

Step 4: Data Enablement

Armed with a well-defined strategy, it's time to embark on the exciting phase of enablement. This is where partners like Heap come into play, streamlining the process of discovering and acting upon digital insights. Heap's platform accelerates your progress, enabling you to obtain better answers and take action based on your customers' journey across various digital touchpoints.

Case Study: Atria Senior Living

Atria Senior Living, a leading operator of over 370 senior living communities in the U.S. and Canada, serves residents and families with a track record of more than twenty years. Atria creates exceptional communities where over 39,000 older adults can thrive.

Atria's Goals

Atria engaged Heap to support their objectives of increasing website conversions for scheduling tours and analyzing customer journey patterns.

Why Heap?

Atria found that their legacy provider lacked the depth of insight and data capture capabilities they required. Gaps in data governance complicated data comprehension, and analytics were neither intuitive nor easily actionable.

Key Benefits

Post-implementation, Atria Senior Living experienced significant benefits, including:

• Behavioral Segmentation: Heap enabled them to segment customers at a nuanced level, facilitating tailored communications. Segmentation included distinctions between adult children of residents versus residents, memory care residents, financially unqualified individuals, rural versus urban visitors, and more.

• Funnel Analysis + Journey Mapping: Atria could now track customer interactions beyond mere pageviews. Tracking was extended to form submission funnels, key events (e.g., viewing pricing, floor plans, and room photo galleries), and sessions across community pages, all of which represent vital milestones in the customer journey.

• Session Replay: The ability to replay customer sessions allowed Atria to identify "rage clicks" or instances where customers experienced confusion, offering invaluable insights into areas with gaps in the customer experience.

• Speed to Insights: As part of the implementation project, Ragnarok built three dashboards comprising 8-10 charts each, providing overviews of the site, audience analytics, and account information. These dashboards were easily replicable across various Atria Senior Living entities.

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In summary, modernizing analytics capabilities with partners like Heap can benefit healthcare and other industries by providing a comprehensive view of customer behavior. By leveraging advanced analytics tools, you can unlock valuable insights to optimize your digital experiences and drive business growth.