Building industry-leading digital experiences that delivered $1 million in new revenue at Allina Health

The Opportunity

As Allina Health revamped its brand image, the organization’s leaders realized the existing digital experience was falling short. The health system needed more intuitive capabilities for delivering the right content and data to all its users, from clinicians to patients to marketers.  

That’s when Allina Health called on the proven expertise of West Monroe’s team to:

• Uncover technology gaps hindering user experience
• Innovate and test potential new services rapidly
• Create and continuously enhance a role-centric online experience that better serves providers, patients, and others in the healthcare journey 

An Undeniable Approach

West Monroe’s cross-functional team pairs deep industry knowledge with digital chops. Our unique Digital Experience Lab has grown to partner with 4 dedicated product teams at Allina Health that build and support 8 current digital products. Teams can pivot effort quickly to reflect evolving needs and priorities.

• Listening: We have conducted more than 400 surveys and 100 in-person interviews across departments and with patients to uncover the specific obstacles standing in the way of providing or receiving needed care.
• Prototyping better digital touchpoints rapidly in iterative sprints that solve identified problems – for example, an app that makes it easier for doctors to find and connect patients with appropriate in-network referrals. We have completed more than 31 such design sprints.
• Prioritizing usability and personalization with web and mobile experiences tailored to the user’s role within or outside the organization.
• Enhancing digital services experiences continuously. 

The Output

Our team took Allina Health’s digital experience evolution to the next level with digital-first online assets. Over the course of our relationship, that has included a more unified and individualized web portal for the entire user spectrum, as well as various active or in-development apps or digital concepts:

• Allina Health Account app
• Oncology patient journey concepts
• Healthy Set Go blog
• Provider-to-provider app
• Beginnings app (pregnancy, birth, and beyond)
• Take Heart app (cardiovascular care)

Returns You Can Measure

With West Monroe’s help, Allina Health transformed its digital properties to deliver better user experiences and improve patient outcomes. And it is able to introduce these digital capabilities faster. Today, the organization’s Digital Experience Lab sends new code to production monthly—that used to happen once every 18 months. The results:

• Improved patient care – for example, helping patients find the right care level, see urgent care wait times so they can pick the optimal location and hold their place in line, and prepare properly for procedures.
• Increased revenue – for example, by equipping providers to identify, communicate with, and refer patients to in-network providers, thereby reducing leakage.
• Increased clinician and technician productivity – for example, by reducing the time spent on unbillable encounters so they have more time to spend with patients.
• Reduced costs – for example, improved online scheduling has saved approximately $75,000 per month.
• Increased efficiency – for example, the system has increased online bill paying from 36% to 52%.
• Improved provider and patient satisfaction – for example, by reducing the time to care, delivering more personalized information, or eliminating time-consuming activity.