Why digitization in healthcare needs to focus on customer contact

The healthcare industry is under pressure - costs are rising, customer demands are evolving, and digital competitors are ready to pounce. In his chapter “The Digitalization of Customer Contact in Healthcare,” Kolja A. Rafferty emphasizes that insurers can no longer rely solely on efficiency; they must actively shape the customer experience.

What I took away from the chapter:

• Contact with customers in the healthcare sector is infrequent and often carries negative connotations. Therefore, every interaction is vital.

• To date, many digital solutions have focused solely on process digitization, lacking genuine services, added value, or emotional connection.

• Health is increasingly viewed as a lifestyle issue. Insurers that accompany, motivate, and reward their customers have the opportunity to reposition themselves in the market.

• The chapter provides compelling examples, such as an ecosystem that includes insurers and pharmacy associations and a digital platform that rewards preventive measures, offering a low-threshold and data-secure approach.

• Digital customer loyalty only works if users derive real benefits from it, through engaging elements, relevant content, and tangible rewards.

My conclusion: Rafferty illustrates how customer relationship management (CRM) in the healthcare sector can be reimagined. It goes beyond sending invoices or providing a service hotline; it's about empowerment, motivation, and creating smart ecosystems. To build customer relationships today, companies must earn this trust through transparency and genuine relevance.

🔗 To the book on Springer

This blog post is based on the chapter „The Digitalization of Customer Contact in Healthcare“by Kolja A. Rafferty from the book "CRM Goes Digital – Design and Use of Digital Customer Interface in Marketing, Sales and Service," published in 2024 by Springer Gabler Publishing House.