CRM: The Wrong Acronym For Healthcare

Forbes January 3, 2022
Abhinav Shashank

In their latest foray into health IT investment, some health systems are layering customer relationship management (CRM) software over existing electronic health record (EHR) systems. The rationale is simple: In an increasingly consumer-driven and digital retail environment, the patient is a consumer of healthcare services. Since Walmart, Target and Facebook know more about a patient’s lifestyle and consumer priorities than a health system or health plan, the argument goes, let’s apply the same CRM systems that retailers use to the healthcare system.

If only it were so simple. Healthcare consumers are looking for more than a purely digital experience that mimics retail. In healthcare, the human touch and the context of that engagement are the differences that separate convenient...

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