3 Ways to Personalize Patient Engagement Before, After & Between Visits
By Blakely Roth | February 18, 2026
Personalized patient engagement is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s a defining factor in access, satisfaction and long-term loyalty. Today’s patients expect healthcare interactions to feel as intuitive and tailored as the digital experiences they encounter in their daily lives. At the same time, healthcare organizations are under pressure to do more with less, balancing personalization with operational efficiency and compliance.
During a recent webinar conversation featuring Kennedy Community Health Chief Operating Officer, Ruby Pezanetti, along with Clearwave and Vital Interaction, leaders discussed how modern patient engagement strategies are helping organizations personalize care across the entire patient journey. They dive into critical AI and Automation strategies, and how these tactics can improve the patient journey—before, after and between visits—without adding administrative burden.
Below are three proven ways healthcare organizations can personalize patient engagement, drawn directly from that conversation and Kennedy Community Health’s real-world experience.
1. Use AI-Powered Videos to Welcome New Patients Before the Visit
First impressions matter—especially in healthcare. Rather than sending generic emails or static instructions, Kennedy Community Health leverages personalized, AI-powered videos to welcome new patients to their practice. Leveraging Vital Interaction’s AI-powered engagement solution, the FQHC can send these videos to patients, featuring their providers.
These AI-power videos offer a more personalized healthcare experience that helps new patients feel seen and informed while reinforcing trust and professionalism. Pezanetti shares the impact at Kennedy Community Health.
These personalized videos only require a one-time script reading from providers. Afterwards, the solution enables organizations to engage with patients before they ever walk through the door, setting expectations and reducing anxiety. For Kennedy Community Health, this type of proactive engagement helps prepare patients for what to expect, streamlines intake and reduces last-minute confusion—all while maintaining a warm, human touch at scale.
2. Customize the On-Site Experience with Patient-Led Kiosks
Personalization doesn’t stop once a patient arrives—it should continue seamlessly at check-in.
Patient-led kiosks empower patients to move through registration and check-in at their own pace, in their preferred language and with their chosen name—creating a more inclusive, respectful experience for every individual. As Ruby Pezanetti shared,
“The Clearwave kiosks, both the standalone and desktop versions, help us stay ADA compliant, which is something other vendors often overlook. Having these options helps us provide the right tools to our elderly or disabled population, which is very important.”
Language accessibility is another critical factor. Kennedy Community Health serves a diverse patient population, and partnering with a solution that supports multiple languages was essential to delivering equitable care.
Beyond experience, kiosks also play a vital role in compliance and accuracy. As a large, multi-location FQHC, Kennedy Community Health must ensure annual forms, consent documents and screenings are completed on time. Automated prompts during check-in, ensure nothing is missed—reducing risk while removing manual follow-up for staff.
That automation was a key contributor to Kennedy Community Health earning a perfect score during its tri-annual Federal Health Center Program compliance site visit.
“From a compliance perspective, we know that certain annual tasks are getting done at the right time because of the automation Clearwave provides in the background.”
Personalization here isn’t just about convenience—it’s about meeting patients where they are while supporting organizational accountability.
3. Learn From No-Shows to Personalize Engagement Between Visits
What happens between visits is just as important as what happens before and during them. Missed appointments and no-shows often signal deeper engagement gaps—confusion about appointments, transportation challenges or a lack of timely reminders.
By analyzing no-show patterns and patient behavior, healthcare organizations can adjust outreach strategies and personalize follow-up communications.
Using insights from patient engagement data, organizations can refine reminder timing, messaging channels and content to better align with patient preferences—ultimately reducing no-shows and improving continuity of care. Which is exactly what Kennedy Community Health has done, Pezanetti shares the approach:
This data-driven personalization allows Kennedy Community Health to move from reactive to proactive engagement, improving outcomes while maximizing schedule efficiency.
Key Takeaway: Patients of All Ages Are Adopting New Technology Quickly
A common misconception is that older patients resist self-service technology. In reality, when tools are intuitive, accessible and thoughtfully designed, patients of all ages adopt them with confidence. Kennedy Community Health proves this success day-in and day-out. Check-in times at Kennedy Community Health average approximately two minutes with a 96% patient kiosk adoption rate. In-office adoption started strong and only further improved for Kennedy Community Health
Patient-led kiosks enhance the experience by reducing wait times, minimizing repetitive questions and allowing patients to complete tasks privately and comfortably. When paired with ADA-compliant design and language support, kiosks become an essential access point—not a barrier—to care. Sharing the success in action, Pezanetti says,
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