A/B Testing in Healthcare: A Playbook for Data-Driven Success

This blog post was written for Regal.io, but was not published due to internal strategy changes. Shared here with permission.

Digital transformation has revolutionized how patients interact with healthcare providers. From scheduling appointments online to managing health records, tech is streamlining care. But as these patient journeys go digital, it’s critical to ensure every interaction is seamless, personalized, and engaging. Enter data-driven decisions.

With the right data, you can truly understand your patients—anticipating their needs and personalizing care at every step. A/B testing is your secret weapon here. This experimental method can help you boost patient engagement, optimize service delivery, and—most importantly—improve care outcomes.

Why Patient Engagement Matters

Before diving into the how-to’s of A/B testing in healthcare, let’s talk about why it’s so essential. Patient engagement is at the heart of effective healthcare. When patients are actively involved in their care, they’re more likely to follow treatment plans, make informed decisions, and experience better outcomes. Engaged patients aren’t just recipients of care, they’re partners in the process.

For example, consider a scenario where you, the healthcare provider, sends personalized messages to remind your patients of their appointments or follow up on their treatment plans. Patients who receive messages tailored to their specific needs and preferences are more likely to respond positively and stay on track with their care.

However, refining the patient experience is an ongoing process, and that’s where A/B testing shines. By testing different engagement strategies – such as timing, content, and message delivery – you can identify what works best for each recipient.

How to Use A/B Testing in Healthcare

Here’s the scoop: A/B testing compares two versions of something to see which performs better. Simple, right? In healthcare, it’s a game-changer for patient interactions—whether it’s appointment reminders, follow-up instructions, or personalized recommendations.

You create a control version (A) and a variation (B), then measure how each version impacts metrics such as patient engagement, satisfaction, and treatment adherence. It involves identifying a clear objective, choosing metrics to track, and ensuring a statistically significant sample size. For instance, you can test two email subject lines to see which one gets more patients to book their next appointment. It’s about discovering what really works for your patients.

Practical Strategies for Implementing A/B Testing in Healthcare

Now, let’s talk strategy. To get the most out of A/B testing, you need to design patient journeys that can be optimized through testing. Start by mapping out key touchpoints such as appointment scheduling, follow-up communications, and treatment reminders. You want to focus on variables that directly impact patient engagement and satisfaction. For example:

• SMS campaign copy: Test different text messages to determine which wording encourages patients to confirm appointments or follow treatment advice.

• Timing of communications: Experiment with sending reminders at different times—say, morning vs. afternoon—and track response rates.

• Call scripts and follow-ups. Modify the scripts your staff uses during patient calls to test follow-up messages and identify the most effective approach.

• Offers and reminders. Test different offers or reminders, such as wellness tips or incentives for completing health surveys, to see which drive higher patient engagement.

With this in mind, let’s look at a real-world example. You can test two approaches to follow-up care. Group A gets a personalized nurse call, while Group B gets a text message with a link to schedule their next appointment. Compare the results and see which method works better!

How Regal.io Powers Patient Engagement

Now that we've explored A/B testing strategies to enhance patient engagement, let’s see how Regal’s AI-enabled, HIPAA-compliant platform helps you bring these strategies to life.

• Our Journey Builder lets you create personalized patient journeys that trigger actions based on individual patient profiles and medical histories. This ensures each patient receives outreach that’s tailored to their specific needs.

• The A/B Test Node within Journey Builder lets you test multiple variations across different touch points—including SMS campaign copy, call timing, and healthcare team scripts.

• Our Task Manager enhances efficiency by automating and prioritizing tasks, managing appointments, and personalizing care so your team can focus on what matters—improving care.

• Branded Caller ID makes calls from healthcare providers recognizable, which enhances trust and increases answer rates. Rather than your patient seeing an unknown phone number when you call, they’ll see your practice name!

How Perry Health boosted first-call answer rates with Regal 

Here’s how these tools helped Perry Health, a diabetes healthcare provider, improve patient engagement and care quality. After struggling with a ticketing system and low task completion rates, Perry Health implemented Journey Builder, Task Manager, and A/B testing to personalize outreach and track tasks.

The results?

• 4X improvement in team productivity

• 50% lift in patient engagement rate

• 23% improvement in payments

Measuring Your Success

The beauty of A/B testing is that it’s measurable. Regal.io tracks every patient interaction and turns it into data you can use to drive results. With our Experience Dashboard, you’ll get real-time insights into what’s working (and what’s not).

Metrics like appointment bookings, patient engagement, and treatment adherence are all at your fingertips. You’ll also get a clear view of how A/B testing is impacting no-show rates, satisfaction, and overall care quality.

Best Practices for A/B Testing in Healthcare

To maximize the effectiveness of your tests, we recommend following these best practices:

• Do define a clear objective, like improving patient engagement or reducing no-show rates.

• Don’t overwhelm yourself by testing too many variables at once. Keep it simple.

• Do gather a large enough sample size for reliable data.

• Don’t rush. Give your tests enough time to gather meaningful insights.

Remember, A/B testing is an ongoing process. You should continuously refine strategies using insights to stay ahead of patient needs and improve care quality.

Ready to Elevate Your Patient Care?

In short, A/B testing offers powerful benefits, from improving patient engagement and reducing no-show rates to enhancing treatment adherence and overall satisfaction. By exploring different outreach strategies and care protocols, you can make informed, data-driven decisions that lead to more personalized care and better patient outcomes.

Ready to take patient engagement to the next level? Book a demo today and start driving better patient engagement tomorrow!