6 Benefits You’ll Gain From a Consolidated Provider Database

1. Improved Patient Experiences

As part of a thoughtfully designed and executed digital front door strategy, a central provider database allows patients to quickly find and compare physicians and other providers based on key criteria like locations, specialties, credentials, and availability. And by streamlining the presentation of details like education, certifications, specialties, languages spoken, reviews, and types of insurance accepted, patients can make easier and better-informed decisions.

Bonus: By integrating scheduling functionality into your database, you can also provide patients with an easy click-to-book experience directly from a physician’s profile once they choose a provider who matches their needs.

2. Easier & More Accurate Site Management

Because your database will provide a single source of truth for provider information, it will be far easier to manage and update those details across multiple platforms — from your website to mobile apps to internal systems. When making profile edits or adding new providers, it cuts the time and costs associated with data, as well as the risk of duplicate records, inaccurate information, or mismatched data across departments.

In addition, centralized databases can seamlessly integrate with other platforms, such as: 

• Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) — This enables better coordination of care through real-time access to provider schedules, patient records, and relevant clinical data.

• Billing — By linking physician details with visit details, billing codes, and payer contracts, you can help ensure more accurate claims submissions and minimize denials.

• CRM Tools — This can help you sync physician engagement data to personalize patient communications, track referrals, and better manage relationships holistically.

3. Improved Provider Visibility and Engagement

Centralized profiles can boost SEO for your hospital or healthcare organization by making physicians and other care providers more discoverable through online searches. Once users find a provider of interest, well-designed profiles that highlight things like impressive achievements, hard-to-find specialties, glowing testimonials, and 5-star patient reviews will go a long way toward building trust and encouraging patient engagement.

4. Better Compliance Outcomes

Does your organization struggle with accurate tracking, reporting, and compliance with regulatory requirements for physician transparency, such as Open Payments and the Physician Self-Referral/Stark Law? A consolidated database can help here too.

By centralizing and linking payment, referral, and interaction data — as well as consolidating information like the National Provider Identifier (NPI), Tax Identification Number (TIN), and other identifying details — your centralized database will ensure that all relevant data is available in a single location, reducing the likelihood of errors or omissions in reporting. (And in the event of an audit, this integrated directory provides an invaluable 360-degree look at all physician activities and financial relationships.)

5. Enhanced Provider Collaboration and Referrals

Centralized directories not only make it easier for physicians to locate and refer patients to colleagues within the same hospital or health system, but they also facilitate other types of collaboration between physicians by providing direct access to one other’s profiles and specialties.

6. More Meaningful Analytics and Insights

By monitoring database metrics like profile views, patient inquiries, and appointment bookings, you can better understand patient preferences and trends to optimize service offerings and staffing strategies — and focus your marketing efforts on the providers and specialties that get the most traction over time.

Need help rethinking your physician directory as part of your overall content strategy? Reach out to start a conversation today.