For nearly 75 years, Beauregard Health System (DeRidder, LA) has been a cornerstone of care in Beauregard Parish and surrounding communities, serving more than 45,000 patients with a focus on closing care gaps and improving health outcomes. Now, thanks to a major shift in its communication strategy, the organization is making significant strides in preventive care—delivering faster outreach, higher screening rates, and a better experience for patients.
Historically, Beauregard’s outreach efforts relied heavily on manual phone calls—hundreds of them—to encourage patients to schedule essential screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies. These efforts were not only time-consuming but also yielded low conversion rates and inconsistent messaging across the board.
In 2021, the health system began streamlining patient communication with automated tools, appointment reminders, and conversational messaging via bidirectional texting now available through MEDITECH’s Expanse Patient Connect solution. More recently, Beauregard took it a step further by implementing the solution’s Conversation Builder, known as “Flows,” to overhaul its population health campaigns.
“From conception to deployment, these campaigns came together so quickly—it really is so easy to learn Conversation Flows,” said Nicole Clanton, population health coordinator at Beauregard Health System, who led the initiative. Clanton collaborated with seven primary care providers to tailor messaging workflows that were both personalized and educational, drawing from existing templates and refining them for the organization’s specific needs.
A nurse with years of experience managing CMS-reported quality measures, Clanton emphasized the importance of empowering patients with the knowledge and confidence to make informed health decisions. To enhance this mission, the team now enables staff to tag team members directly in patient conversations for follow-ups and resource sharing.
In just two months, the impact for Beauregard Health System was clear:
- Mammogram gap closure improved by 18%.
- Colorectal screening gap closure improved by 13% (including both Cologuard and colonoscopy).
- Staff efficiency soared, with average call times dropping from as high as 10 minutes to just 30 seconds—equivalent to saving two weeks of staff time.
- Patients welcomed the shift, expressing appreciation for convenient, text-based communication.
“While I’ve tried many strategies over the years, nothing has been as effective or seamless as this,” Clanton added.
Beauregard Health System’s proactive approach to preventive care demonstrates how technology, when paired with dedicated staff, can close care gaps, improve outcomes, and make healthcare more accessible and efficient for everyone.
MEDITECH’s Expanse Patient Connect solution continues to evolve, now offering texting in over 100 languages, as well as cutting-edge AI technology to assist in messaging. For more information on the latest advanced functionality, view our Expanse Patient Connect enhancements flyer.
