This MedTouch employee wants to digitally transform the healthcare industry. Here’s why.

by Cailin Crowe
May 21, 2019
MedTouch Boston
photo via medtouch

There’s a lot of perplexity surrounding the healthcare system, and that confusion can lead to dangerous consequences.

Many people don’t know if they should dial 911 or visit a minute clinic when they experience chest pain, said MedTouch Director of Strategy Linda Watts (for the record, the correct answer is to dial 911).

“Navigating a healthcare system is incredibly complex,” she said. “We’ve found that there can be quite a bit of confusion for patients surrounding the best next step to take in getting care.”

Watts is motivated by that lack of clarity. In her role at MedTouch, she takes a customer-centric approach, with an end goal of simplifying a patient’s healthcare journey through technology.

Watts supports an important piece of the MedTouch puzzle. The company aims to digitally transform the healthcare industry by helping clients have personalized and successful touchpoints with patients.

We caught up with Watts to learn more about how she helps MedTouch deliver on their mission to make the digital experience better for patients and their loved ones.

 

Tell us about your career background. How have those experiences affected your leadership and work style at MedTouch?

I spent the last 16 years in healthcare digital marketing, working on projects that ranged from content development and user journeys, to website redesigns and analytics. Having been a healthcare client myself, I can more readily understand client pain points and the complexity of their organizations. This allows me to propose solutions that meet the needs and expectations of both the client’s internal and external audiences!



How do you incorporate patient needs in your role as director of strategy? How is that tied to the MedTouch mission and values?

“Consumer-centric experience” has become a buzzword in healthcare, but very few health systems are delivering on that promise. A big part of my role is to help healthcare organizations move in that direction. The first step is to understand what’s important to patient consumers and then to incorporate that into every step of the patient journey. I build journey maps that describe touchpoints, pain points, emotions and opportunities at each journey phase. While the healthcare experience often isn’t enjoyable by nature, there are opportunities to simplify and improve that journey by making next steps clear, eliminating unnecessary steps, gamifying, or simply communicating to the patient in a friendly tone at a level they can understand and appreciate.

While the healthcare experience often isn’t enjoyable by nature, there are opportunities to simplify and improve that journey...”

What has been your proudest accomplishment at MedTouch?

We ran a comprehensive discovery process for one specific network of brands that has a presence in many locations throughout the country. While their audience has a diverse set of medical needs and expectations based on geography, we wanted to make every person who visited the site feel like their specific needs were understood and the journey was tailored to what they might want. The strategy we’ve created will enable patients to feel the connectedness of a local community while still benefiting from the services of a large brand. I developed six unique personas and journeys, and worked with our design and content teams to create personalized content and designs to meet the needs of those personas. Our tech team is working on the site build now. I’m looking forward to the launch this summer!

 

What do you enjoy most about the MedTouch culture?

I love the collaboration at MedTouch. I regularly work with our design, content and analytics teams on projects. We leverage each other’s expertise to build a more effective solution for our clients.  

 

How does the MedTouch mission influence the team culture?

Our mission is at the center of everything we do, and everyone touches a different part of that mission. Many people at MedTouch have intentionally selected this line of work because of its impact on people’s lives. This unified motivation fosters a unique synergy around the office and on project teams.

 

What specific experiences and/or traits do you look for in potential MedTouch employees?

Personality, motivation, and collaboration really matter here. We look for people who are team players and are driven to bring their best to every project and client. Motivation is also key. People who are interested in learning about healthcare or becoming an expert in their field tend to be the most successful.

Personality, motivation, and collaboration really matter here.”

 

Describe an exciting project that your team is working on. How are the company’s values reflected in the work?

I’m especially excited about some of the patient journey work that we’re rolling out because it starts from the moment someone has their first symptom to after formal treatment has ended. Right now, I find that most marketing drops off after someone has made an appointment, but there’s a lot of opportunity left on the table with our long-term approach. Our journey maps detail each touchpoint and uncover areas where marketing can make an overall patient experience seamless and more intuitive. We’re also expanding our reach to consider the best opportunities for supporting long-term treatment care, even across providers and departments. We value connectedness and continuity in the patient experience and it’s incredibly rewarding to see that resonate and impact change with our clients.

 

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