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Putting the power of healthcare in the hands of patients

red horizontal rule

SCL Health

In recent years, a massive shift in the healthcare industry has been underway. Patients are demanding greater control over their healthcare, and new competitive pressures are emerging from urgent care specialty groups and retail companies like Walmart and Walgreens Boots Alliance, etc.

In addition, the entire industry is rallying behind a renewed purpose to drive from “reactive care” to holistic preventive healthcare. Add to this the pressures that arose from COVID-19 and the healthcare industry needed to find a way to deliver beyond the industry standard. Healthcare systems must find new ways to create consumer-centric experiences that empower patients to take an even more active role in managing their health.


DIGITAL FRONT DOOR | PATIENT EXPERIENCE | GROWTH

SCL Health is a faith-based, nonprofit healthcare organization dedicated to improving the health of the people and communities they serve, especially those who are poor and vulnerable. Founded by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth in 1864, the $2.8 billion health network provides comprehensive, coordinated care throughout eight hospitals and more than 150 physician clinics, and home health, hospice, mental health, and safety-net services. Located in Colorado, Montana and Kansas, SCL Health relentlessly focuses on delivering safe, high-quality, effective care to every patient, every time, everywhere.

The Challenge

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to think differently about all aspects of our lives, the demand for digital innovation in healthcare has been a growing concern. Loyalty is rarely mentioned in this industry and patients are longing for greater control over their healthcare. The time was now for healthcare systems to start to think more holistically about and begin to shift the conversation from sick care to proactive, preventive care.  

SCL Health logo with mobile app on phone next to cup of coffee.

In addition to the growing consumerism occurring in every industry, SCL Health was also experiencing increased competitive pressures in their primary markets and needed to find a way to stand out as the rate of innovation continued to accelerate rapidly during the pandemic.

Their existing app, built on an industry-standard EHR patient portal, was outdated, lacked ability to scale to non-EHR services/features, and didn’t deliver the experience the world now expects.

Our Approach

To meet the growing demands of consumers and to drive efficiencies for both patients and associates, SCL Health turned to Bottle Rocket to re-imagine and build a consumer-centric, streamlined digital experience that empowers patients to take a more active role in managing their health.

Built on the core functionality of Epic’s EHR platform, the new SCL Health iOS and Android mobile experiences allow patients to access all of the standard MyChart features. Patients are able to perform tasks such as scheduling appointments, accessing virtual care options, and paying bills, but the re-imagined app also gives greater control to patients wanting to do more virtually. An easy to navigate front-end user experience empowers patients to make more informed decisions about their care options, with a 24/7 virtual access point.

The new SCL Health app offers frictionless appointment bookings and online bill pay interactions, as well as additional streamlined tasks to drive increased adoption and loyalty within the system. Without logging in, patients are able to access a plethora of online health resources, with greater functionality and resources available for logged in users. The new app launched in early 2021 and is one step closer to achieving SCL Health’s mission of being the healthcare leader in their markets including Colorado, Kansas, and Montana. Given the app launched amidst a period of the pandemic where vaccine access was a top priority, SCL Health was able to capitalize on their new, nimble platform by integrating newly developed vaccine scheduling access points into their app. The new experiences will help to drive growth across the organization and help increase patient outcomes across the board. With the new app in market, the organization hopes to increase virtual health adoption, grow the total volume of clinic visits, and drive return visits among its existing patient population, all while delivering an experience for patients that is simple, easy and useful.
Screenshots of SCL health mobile app.