When it comes to knowing where to start identifying non-donor grateful patient major gift prospects it comes down to understanding and leveraging data. The data informs how you prioritize prospects and build pipeline, think strategically and build a better partnership with clinicians.
So what data do you need? Once you’ve worked with your Compliance and IT teams (or whomever is responsible for approval of PHI and how you get it), to establish a flow of patient information, consider how this information can be paired with what else you know. This combined data guides what you do with the prospect.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the types of information you want to have available:
Patient Demographics
General demographic information is the most important piece of data you need. This covers field elements of name, address, email, phone, and DOB. It also includes a patient ID that is unique to the individual and can be used to match up their records within the systems you use. And while some organizations use MRN as this identification number this is considered PHI and the less PHI you keep in your database the better.
If you are prospecting parents of pediatric patients, this may also include the same information for Guardians or Emergency Contacts since those are the people you want to screen.
Visit Details
This is the next layer that is critical to patient discovery. Visits, or encounters, are the core of identifying potential prospects using their engagement with the organization. Details on past visit date(s), inpatient vs. outpatient, speciality, clinician, and location. Be cognisant of what PHI is allowable and how you store it.
Wealth Information
Here’s an example of using external data to supplement the information you already have on prospects. You’ll take the patient information and submit it to a 3rd party service that can provide wealth information and, in some cases, additional modeling to serve how you organize prospects.
Internal Affinity Rating
Building your own internal affinity rating might sound daunting, but the benefits can be really impactful. Think of it as a cross the first 3 areas + other information living in your CRM. By measuring and rating how a constituent has been engaged with the organization, you can look at specific trends to more effectively prioritize prospects with high wealth indicators.
Data in this area might include gift quantity, gift recency, gift amount, events, volunteers, patient visits, or any combination of touchpoints unique to how your organization values engagement.
See my article on how to build an affinity rating.
Patient Modeling Data
While an affinity rating looks more internally, patient modeling data works more outwardly. To build an effective model you need a statistically valid amount of records to base the model one - what’s is about prospects that already give that we can categorize and use to identify others. If you don’t have data to base it on, you can start with making a rating similar to affinity.
This patient model should measure visit information, like recency, frequency, speciality, and/or future visits (if you have access to that). Combine that with wealth screening results to look at not just wealth capacity, but giving to other organizations to demonstrate a likelihood to give.
Going even further than the types of information you’re getting, you may also be tracking data specific to your Major Gift Program that can help inform prospect
Solicitor(s)
Primary Clinician(s)
Prospect Pipeline Stage (including Suspects)
Shared a Grateful Patient Story
Clinician Referral
Other Clinician/Solicitor Activity
All of these statistics share a core focus of measuring gift activity and the goal of a deep partnership with clinicians, whose engagement is crucial.
Healthcare institutions vary on the frequency they want patient data, so it depends on your program needs. But frequency aside, it comes down to the data you’re getting and how you use it. Keep it clean through regular processes and data audits. Consider how you report on it and who that goes to.