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Intro: The following SHSMD podcast is a production of Dr.podcasting.com.

Bill Klaproth (Host): On this episode of the SHSMD podcast, so do you have a mobile wayfinding platform? Wait. No, no you're telling me no. Well, you're going to find out why you need one and the value it can bring to your patients, as we talk with Deb Laughery from WakeMed Health and Hospitals. So, why don't we find our way to this podcast? Hmm. Good idea. Let's do that right now.

This is the SHSMD Podcast Rapid Insights for healthcare strategy professionals in planning, business development, marketing communications, and public relations. I'm your host Bill Klaproth. In this episode, we talk about improving patient experience and access to care with a dynamic mobile wayfinding platform with Deb Laughery, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for WakeMed Health and Hospitals. And this episode is sponsored by GOZIO HEALTH. Deb, welcome to the podcast. As you know, we start every episode of the SHSMD podcast with Rapid Insights. One quick tip, someone can use to make their marketing and communications better today. Deb, give us your Rapid Insight.  

Deb Laughery (Guest): Marketers across the country are faced with the problem of how to make the user experience for patients and families better. So, access, convenience, all in the palm of your hand is one key way to do it. And that's where mobile wayfinding and access to apps that can help our patients find their way, do business with our system, is one of the best things we can do.

Bill Klaproth (Host): And that is your Rapid Insight. Great job Deb. So, access, convenience all in the palm of your hand. That is such a great tip. And that's all what mobile wayfinding is about, making it easy for your consumers to find their way to you, basically. So, Deb tell us this, when did you decide that you needed a mobile wayfinding platform?

Deb: We decided about seven years ago that having a mobile wayfinding platform would be really beneficial to our patients and their loved ones. However, there was not really well developed products out there yet that provided a great user experience, like the blue dot navigation that so many people are used to. So, we started looking and then about two and a half years ago, we were actually able to bring it on board.

Host: Yeah, that's really interesting that you were thinking about this so long ago. So, what patient challenges did you address with your mobile wayfinding platform?

Deb: WakeMed has three hospital campuses, all of which are very complex and another 80 or so outpatient locations. And patients were quite frankly getting lost. They didn't know where they parked their car or they forgot where they parked their car. They had troubles once they were entering into the hospital finding their way to the point of care and you know getting there on time is such a huge stressor for people and they get a little overwhelmed on big hospital campuses. So, one of the biggest challenges that we were facing was how can we make it easier for our patients to access us, find their way, get to their point of care and feel not stressed about it. So, that's really one of the biggest challenges we were facing. Now once we did it, not everyone is as technologically capable as we had hoped. So, we did also have some challenges on downloads but we engaged our volunteers and they really helped people download and learn how to use the app and it just really has addressed so many problems.

Host: You are so right, we're in these big hospital campuses every day. Even for us, it can be confusing sometimes. So, imagine somebody coming in and seeing five, six buildings. It's like where, what, where do I, how do I get there. I mean it's such a common question that sometime is overlooked and that's what mobile wayfinding can help you with that step-by-step navigation directly to a patient's point of care. Really important. And that's an important feature of this app. So, what other features did you request when you were developing the app?

Deb: We felt to get really good adoption of the app and downloads of the app that we had to offer many, many other features of the app so that patient or their family could really interact and engage with our hospital through other functions. So, not only do we have great wayfinding, cause it works beautifully. You can find a doctor. You can schedule an appointment. You can register to have your baby. You can look at all seven of our emergency departments' wait times. And it tells you which one's closest to you. You can save your spot or reserve your seat at all of our urgent care locations. So, we were able to wrap around so many different other access and convenience elements in one single app and that has really made all the difference. Because it's so usable and helps the consumer or the patient interact with our system.

Host: Yeah. Well when you make it so feature packed like that, it's not just wayfinding, it's so much more. So, I'm curious in this how did you market your app? Was it kind of a guerrilla marketing campaign inside the hospital walls? Was there outside marketing? So, how did you market it and gain adoption when it was launched?

Deb: Gaining adoption is one of the most important elements to make this successful. So, we started internally because many of the features on the app are also for our employees. It shows you where conference rooms are, where dining is, where things that our employees may need as well. So, we really launched it internally first, had big kickoff events. Just to get people excited about what was coming. So, once we did the internal launch and we also engaged our employees to user test and that way they got engaged and found things that maybe we didn't think of that a customer might. So, really engaging our employees first. Then we went external and we did a big marketing push around it. We used both almost every marketing channel, a lot of digital, a lot of social, but we also used some of the more traditional mediums of radio and TV. And it worked. We have been far, far ahead of our predictions in terms of downloads. And as a result, I really think that the marketing worked. Plus we could measure it, as we always do. But our marketing was I think really, really clever. It wasn't real serious. It added some humor and it got people's attention. So, not only was every marketing channel employed, we also had a real nice earned media pickup of it because we were first to market with something like this in this area. So, there was a lot of buzz generated in the community. And again, I think that's what really drove such fast adoption and downloads.

Host: Yeah, and whenever you can pick up earned media like that, that is always a bonus. And you said it was kind of a lighthearted and added some humor. So, I could see where that would be very well received. So, with the pandemic of course, there was a rapid shift in how hospitals communicated with their patients and their communities. I'm curious how did you shift how you were using your mobile platform to meet the new communications and operations needs of WakeMed?

Deb: I wouldn't say that we really shifted dramatically. The functionality of it offers you the ability to put what they call dismissible cards which are really messages at the top of the screen. So, as visitation changed, as COVID testing became available, as we're still using it today with the vaccine, and our vaccine clinics. We use that to let people know what we're doing in that space. The other thing is that there's a direct link to our virtual care options. And virtual care, as we all know, when people were not coming into the hospital, they were scared, they had the fear of getting COVID, Tele-health and virtual care just skyrocketed in terms of its use. So, through the app there was a direct link to our virtual care options. And we saw that really enhanced our Virtual Urgent Care as well as our Tele-health options within our physician practices, Primary Care and Specialty Offices.

Host: So, it sounds like the app really came in handy if you will. Very useful when the pandemic hit. It was nice that you already had it there to be able to utilize.

Deb: Absolutely. It just came in so handy and we weren't scrambling which was really nice is that it was there and we were able to take advantage of different options that it offered to reach our audiences at a really, really critical time.

Host: Yeah, I mean it was a really good to have that in order to have that in the palms of people's hands for sure. So, what are some of the features that you're looking to add to the platform in the future?

Deb: I think more and more integration with Epic and in particular my chart with deep links. One of the things we're looking at doing right now is as people get an appointment reminder for their upcoming appointment, having the link there that will help take them to the wayfinding straight from their appointment reminder is going to be really, really helpful. Right now, it's two different functions. Once you get your appointment reminder in my chart and then use the wayfinding linking those together is going to really make it a seamless experience. And then other kinds of deep links like that where any other app functionality that we're trying to do be it some sort of care manager or things like that, that we're employing that it's all really in one location, one app. So, the consumer is not faced with downloading multiple apps. It's not only wayfinding and finding your place to the location but really how you're trying to interact with our caregivers and all the different elements of being a patient.

Host: Deb, it is always great to talk with you. Thank you so much for your time. And this has really been informative. Last question, people might have questions about the cost. So, with tightening budgets as you know, across the hospital industry tell us about costs. How does, how did that work with you?

Deb: Well for one thing it was not as expensive as I thought it was going to be. I was pleasantly surprised but it is not an inexpensive proposition. So, we went to our Foundation. And they quickly saw the value that it would bring to patients and their families. So, they funded it for us. So, our charitable arm of a hospital provided the initial funding for the app. And they couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.

Host: Wow. That is really cool. What a great way to use as you said your charitable arm to fund this. That is a great way to do it. And as you said they saw the value in this. So, when they see the value that it can bring to patients, it's much easier to get done. So, really great thoughts on everything Deb. Thank you so much for your time. This has really been informative and something I think we all should look at doing. So, Deb thank you again. We appreciate it

Deb: Thank you.

Host: That's Deb Laughery, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for WakeMed Health and Hospitals. And once again, this episode sponsored by GOZIO HEALTH. You can visit them at goziohealth.com for more information. And to learn more about SHSMD, visit shsmd.org. And visit our education page to learn about our upcoming programs at shsmd.org/education. And if you found this podcast helpful and please come on, hey, we get people like Deb Laughery on how can you not, please share it on all of your social channels. And please hit the subscribe or follow button to get every episode. This has been a production of Dr. Podcasting. I'm your host Bill Klaproth. See ya.