COVID-19 Pandemic Accelerates Need to Improve Online Patient Engagement Practices to Enhance Patient Experience

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid change in health care, accelerating the use of digital health services, including telehealth. Moreover, growth in value-based care has compelled consumers to become more engaged in care processes. It has also provided opportunities to enhance patient experiences by increasing patients’ access to online health information and services. This study assessed online patient engagement practices for 6 common patient touchpoints by reviewing the websites of the top 32 hospitals, including the top 10 children’s hospitals. The great majority of these hospitals provided some information related to these patient touchpoints. However, the scope and extent of task automation varied significantly and many options were not convenient. Based on this study, it is clear that patient experience can be enhanced by improving online patient engagement, particularly during the current global pandemic.