6 patient engagement tips to improve the patient experience

The state of patient engagement in healthcare

For healthcare practices, patient engagement can create operational and financial pressure, as many patients miss or put off care when communication and access fall short. For example, a 2023 AAPA/Harris Poll report found that 44% of patients skipped or delayed care over the previous two-year period, while 56% said they waited more than a week for an appointment.¹ Among patients who skipped or delayed care, 25% saw their condition worsen, 25% experienced negative mental health impacts, and 21% lost faith in the healthcare system entirely.²

These aren’t just frustrating statistics. They can represent lost revenue, strained staff resources, and competitive risk.

The good news? Solutions exist, and you may already have the tools within your practice management system. Improving the patient experience is familiar territory for athenahealth Customer Success Managers (CSMs) Betsy Young and Karen Lazare. Together, they’ve spent nearly 40 years combined helping practices optimize their technology to address challenges exactly like these. Here are six strategies they recommend that can make a difference for your practice.

Tip #1: Enable patient self-scheduling (even if you start small)

Some practices avoid patient self-scheduling because they worry about losing control, double-booking, or patients selecting inappropriate appointment types. Meanwhile, phone-only scheduling creates bottlenecks at the front desk, limits access to office hours, and frustrates patients who expect the online appointment booking convenience they get everywhere else — from restaurants to hair salons.

The solution? Start small.

“Some practices are wary of self-scheduling. They’re worried about giving that power over to patients,” says Young. Her approach? “Start with just one appointment type. Maybe you just open it up for flu vaccines.”

Young suggests starting with straightforward appointment types: “Patients can schedule their own flu vaccine appointments or... something simple before the practice opens their full schedule.” She recommends appointment types with clear parameters and minimal complexity, such as well-child visits, school physicals, or quick sick visits.

This incremental approach addresses concerns while delivering measurable benefits. By starting where the stakes are lowest, practices can test workflows, build staff confidence, and gradually expand self-scheduling capabilities.

How to start:

• Choose one low-risk appointment type (flu shots, physicals, routine sick visits)
• Enable patient-self scheduling for one provider to test the workflow
• Monitor booking patterns and adjust availability windows
• Expand gradually as staff confidence grows

The results: Reduced phone volume, extended scheduling access beyond office hours, and happier patients who can book appointments on their terms.

Tip #2: Switch to patient self check-in to eliminate paper handling

Practices still using paper forms at the front desk may be creating unnecessary burden for staff, patients, and office budgets. Digital check-in helps reduce paper handling while assisting with compliance and improving convenience.

“There are still practices out there who are printing off reams and reams of forms to get physical signatures to turn around and scan those documents into the system and then shred them,” says Young. “It’s a waste of money. If all they need is a signature on a form, that can be done electronically.”

Lazare highlights the real-time flexibility of a digital approach: “If a patient is in the exam room and needs a quick procedure, staff can send that consent immediately in the moment to their phone and they can sign it.” She adds, “It’s just easier. And it prevents the patient from having to schedule to come back to have that done because they can do it right at that same time.”

How to implement:

• Activate digital check-in in your practice management system
• Configure consent forms to be sent directly to patient phones during appointments
• Train front desk staff to promote digital check-in for arriving patients
• Phase out paper forms systematically by starting with highest-volume forms first

The results: Eliminated printing, scanning, and shredding cycles. Patients can get procedures faster, without form-hunting delays or return visits just to sign paperwork.

Tip #3: Maximize portal communications for privacy and convenience

Phone tag frustrates both patients and staff. Patients may hesitate to call during work hours if they’re concerned coworkers could overhear sensitive health information. Portal messaging, on the other hand, provides 24/7 access, helps protect privacy, and allows staff to respond thoughtfully rather than reactively.

Young explains the privacy advantage: “Using the portal is the biggest convenience for people who can send a message to their provider.... It cuts down on phone time, phone tags.”

Lazare emphasizes the privacy benefit: “It’s also about privacy. You don’t want to call your provider and say something personal. Using the portal increases the patient’s sense of privacy and that communication between them and their provider.”

Beyond patient convenience, portal messaging improves workflow efficiency. Young notes: “Those messages can all be directed to various people in the office. So, you don’t have to have somebody staffing the phone to say, ‘oh, patient A wants a prescription refill. Patient B broke out with a rash after they had their antibiotic.’ It can be automatically routed to the appropriate person.”

Providers can also respond on their own schedule. As Young explains: “Ideally, we don’t want our providers answering messages at 11 o’clock at night. But they have the freedom to be able to respond back.”

How to implement:

• Promote portal messaging as the preferred communication method in appointment reminders and at check-out
• Configure automatic message routing so messages go to appropriate staff based on content type (refills, scheduling, clinical questions)
• Train staff to respond within expected timeframes (e.g., within 24 business hours)
• Set patient expectations about when messages will be reviewed and answered

The results: Reduced phone interruptions, better privacy for patients, and a documented communication trail. Patients can message anytime; staff can respond during business hours on their schedule.

Tip #4: Reach more patients with automated outreach — without adding staff workload

Post-procedure check-ins, preventive care reminders, and emergency office closures all require staff time for outbound calls. Automated call campaigns — customizable automated messages sent to patients via phone, text, or email — demonstrate proactive care while freeing staff for complex patient needs. They’re also trackable and show patients the practice cares about their well-being.

“I had a group where they had a nurse call each patient the next day after a procedure,” says Lazare. “And we set up an automated call campaign for them that let patients know they were checking in and could press 1 to speak to somebody.” By reducing the amount of time that nurses were spending on the phone, they were more present for patient needs. “It was a huge time saver for them and a good win,” Lazare says.

Beyond post-procedure outreach, automated campaigns work for seasonal health reminders, weather-related office closures, and emergency cancellations. Lazare says that emergency cancellations are particularly valuable for OB-GYNs: “They have to drop everything to go do a delivery, right? Having that automated notification is great because you don’t want patients to show up and find their appointment was just cancelled.”

How to implement:

• Identify repetitive outbound calling workflows (such as post-procedure check-ins, seasonal health reminders, office closures)
• Configure campaigns with transfer-to-staff options so patients can reach a nurse or front desk with questions
• Track engagement metrics (call completion rates, transfers requested) and refine messaging based on results
• Leverage pre-built health reminders for flu season, preventive care gaps, and other common scenarios

The results: Nurses and other staff freed from repetitive check-in calls, patients receive proactive outreach, and day-of-visit confusion drops — all without adding staff workload.

Tip #5: Enable digital payment options to collect more revenue

Collecting patient payments is a time-consuming administrative effort. Mailed statements get ignored, patients forget portal logins, and billing staff spend hours chasing small balances. Digital payment options — including portal payments, Notification Pay (no login required), card on file for automatic collections, and HSA/FSA support — improve collections while reducing billing calls.

Lazare explains: “Use digital payment options so that patients can pay their bills either through the portal or through guest pay. They can set up card on file so that they’re not getting billed and don’t have to worry because it’ll just go through.”

How to implement:

• Activate all digital payment features (guest pay, card on file, HSA/FSA support)
• Run your portal payments report monthly to track revenue
• Promote portal and guest pay options on statements and at check-in
• Train front desk staff to collect card on file options during registration

The results: Patients have more convenient ways to pay, which leads to faster payment collection, reduced billing calls, and improved cash flow — all with less staff time spent chasing balances.

Tip #6: Set up family billing and portal access for caregivers

Parents juggling multiple children’s health information shouldn’t need separate logins for each child. Elderly patients deserve family advocates who can manage appointments and communication on their behalf.

“For pediatric practices, if I have three kids and they’re all patients at your practice, I should be able to switch between my three children within one portal,” says Lazare. “I shouldn’t have to have a different username and password for each child.”

Proper family billing and portal setup improves satisfaction for pediatric and geriatric populations while reducing administrative burden. One login replaces three, one statement replaces multiple mailings, and caregivers can support loved ones without privacy concerns.

Many practices hesitate to promote family portals due to privacy concerns, but the system includes safeguards. “I think there’s just this general fear that the teenagers are going to sign up for their own portals and then the parents aren’t going to see anything,” Lazare notes. “But privacy controls are built in. You can adjust settings to balance teen privacy with parental visibility as appropriate.”

Family billing simplifies collections too, Lazare adds: “If you have a family and they all go to the same practice, you can set up family billing where one person is the responsible party for the whole family. And then they get one statement with all the family members’ balances on it.”

How to implement:

• Configure portal settings to allow parents to switch between children’s accounts
• Set up caregiver access workflows for elderly patients and family members
• Review privacy controls for behavioral health and sensitive diagnoses
• Train front desk staff on explaining family access during registration

The results: One login for families with multiple patients, one statement for family billing, and caregivers empowered to help elderly relatives with fewer privacy concerns.

Bringing It All Together

You don’t need to implement all six strategies at once. Start with the workflow causing the most pain — whether that’s phone volume, paper handling, or payment collection. Start with one tip, measure the impact, and build momentum from there.

Learn how athenaOne can help you optimize your practice’s patient engagement and more.