In today’s fast-moving, digitally connected world, healthcare organisations are under increasing pressure to improve the way they deliver care and services. The digital customer experience has become a crucial part of meeting patient needs, improving service delivery, and maintaining trust. For those working in the health sector, the question is no longer if digital transformation is necessary, but rather how to implement it effectively.
At Five Faces, we specialise in delivering digital customer experience services that enable organisations to create seamless, user-friendly, and data-informed experiences across the entire customer journey. In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of digital customer experience in the health industry and how strategic investment in digital tools can improve customer engagement, satisfaction, and overall outcomes.
What is Digital Customer Experience?
Digital customer experience (DCX) refers to how users interact with an organisation through digital platforms such as websites, kiosks, mobile apps, and digital signage. It basically covers every digital interaction a patient or visitor has. This includes the beginning, from booking an appointment online to later checking in at a hospital kiosk, receiving SMS reminders, and accessing follow-up information via patient portals.
A strong digital customer experience strategy should consider:
- Accessibility and ease of use
- Real-time information
- Personalised digital interactions
- Seamless transitions between platforms and touchpoints
The goal is to deliver a seamless digital experience that enhances the delivery of your service and builds long-term customer relationships.
Why is Digital Customer Experience Important?
Patients today expect the same convenience from healthcare providers as they do from other industries. Just like they can track a parcel or book a table online, they’re after digital tools that simplify their healthcare journey. This shift in customer behaviour is driving the need for healthcare organisations to rethink their digital strategies.
Here are some of the core reasons why digital customer experience is important in the healthcare space:
1. Improves Customer Satisfaction
When patients can easily access services, check in digitally, and receive updates in real-time, it’s only clear that their satisfaction will increase. A well-designed digital experience can reduce anxiety, cut wait times, and improve the perception of care quality for your organisation.
2. Supports Staff and Operational Efficiency
Digital tools reduce the administrative burden on frontline staff by automating tasks such as form filling, check-ins, and wayfinding. This allows healthcare workers to focus on delivering care instead of managing queues or paperwork.
3. Enables Personalisation Through Data-Driven Insights
By tracking user interactions across digital touchpoints, organisations can gain valuable insights into customer expectations and behaviours. This data goes on to support continuous improvement of your processes and helps tailor experiences to different individual patient needs.
4. Delivers a Seamless Experience Across Channels
Patients interact with multiple departments and systems. A connected digital customer experience management approach ensures consistency across all platforms. From websites, kiosks and mobile apps, patients can receive a unified experience, regardless of where or how they engage.
5. Enhances Retention and Loyalty
A positive digital experience influences whether a patient returns or recommends a provider. By meeting or exceeding digital expectations, healthcare organisations can drive customer retention and strengthen trust.
6. Creates Competitive Advantage
In an increasingly crowded digital landscape, a seamless, patient-centric experience can differentiate a healthcare provider from competitors. This means that digital excellence is no longer optional, it’s a requirement for relevance in this day and age.
Real-World Impact: How Digital Customer Experience Enhances Healthcare
Alfred Health’s Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC)
Facing rising demand and increasing pressure on clinic staff, Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) partnered with Five Faces to modernise and streamline their walk-in experience through a fully digital workflow.
From the moment a client walks into the clinic, the experience is digitised. Patients scan a QR code at the entrance to check in and complete their registration and screening forms. Once confirmed, they receive real-time updates on wait times via a display screen in the waiting area. When called, they proceed directly to their consultation. This means easy queue management, and no uncertainty.
The result: shorter wait times, smoother clinic operations, and higher patient satisfaction.
This digital front door solution has not only reduced wait times but also eased the administrative load on staff. The result is a more transparent, efficient, and satisfying process for both patients and healthcare professionals.
With a diverse client base and high daily volumes, MSHC’s transformation illustrates how smart digital customer experience strategies can optimise workflows and elevate the entire customer journey.
Sydney Local Health District’s ‘Florence’ Platform
Building on this, Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) turned to Five Faces to tackle similar challenges in its outpatient clinics, where long wait times and delayed communication were affecting patient satisfaction and service delivery.
To solve this, SLHD launched Florence, a digital platform designed to give patients greater control over their appointments.
“Before Florence, communication was delayed and wait times were long,” says Alex Wagstaff, CIO at SLHD. “Now, patients can manage appointments directly through the app.”
[VIDEO] – https://youtu.be/5HIqA0vfxXc?si=oGwL0R-ClqjG2saW
Florence supports over 20 specialties across 200+ clinics and has been especially valuable for vulnerable patients, including those with hearing impairments or language barriers. Through the app, these patients can communicate with clinics and reschedule appointments more easily – no phone calls required.
Since launching the patient portal, some clinics have seen wait times drop from 30 minutes to just 7 minutes.
“The clinics run smoother, staff are happier, and patients are seen on time,” adds Wagstaff.
“It was a hand-in-hand collaboration, dynamic, responsive, and innovative.”
Together, these case studies show how tailoring digital technologies for customer experience can create measurable improvements in patient flow, satisfaction, and staff efficiency.
Planning Your Digital Customer Experience Strategy
Whether you’re managing a hospital, community health centre or a specialist clinic, developing a cohesive digital customer experience strategy is essential. Here are key steps to get you started:
- Map the Entire Customer Journey: Identify all touchpoints where interactions occur.
- Evaluate Current Pain Points: Look for delays, confusion or frustration in existing workflows.
- Prioritise Seamless Experience: Aim for integrated systems that talk to each other.
- Use Data to Drive Decisions: Leverage feedback and usage data to refine your approach.
- Choose the Right Partner: Work with experienced providers who understand the healthcare environment.
Where to Next for Healthcare Digital Experience?
The importance of digital customer experience in healthcare will only continue to grow. As patients become more digitally savvy, the need to deliver a seamless experience across the full customer journey becomes critical to both satisfaction and outcomes.
Five Faces helps healthcare organisations lead with innovation by delivering scalable, secure, and effective digital customer experience services. From digital signage and kiosks to web-based consumer hubs, we help you leverage customer behaviour to create the best environment possible.
Explore more at fivefaces.com.au or contact us today to find out more.
