As we have explored, technology can be a great benefit to the patient and family engaged care framework. In this article, we will examine the strategic inputs in the Patient and Family Engaged Care: A Guiding Framework. These are the specific interventions and tactics for creating the desired outcomes of better culture, better care, lower costs and better health.

Structures refer to organizational systems and norms–how the organization operates. Here the CipherHealth products and services support how an organization can operate in a Patient and Family Engaged Care Framework.

Digital Rounding and Patient and Family Engaged Care
CipherRounds

• digital rounding provides transparency and visibility on how the organization operates. Using customized scripts, leaders can reach out to staff throughout the organization to learn about what gets in the way of the staff doing their best, or what they are proud of doing well. Utilizing the technology encourages one-on-one personal conversations that build connections, cutting through hierarchical layers.

Additionally, a solution such as CipherRounds can be used for more than just patient or staff rounding. Through using an environmental script, organizations can assess the environment in which patient care is given.

There are many details in providing care and running a healthcare organization. Environment of care rounds can help proactively identify things such as expired medications, radiology protective vests not properly hung, or more serious issues such as missed steps in safety protocols. This helps organizations successfully prepare for accreditation surveys like those performed by the Joint Commission.

Using Rounds to Assess Staff Impact on Patients
CipherRounds can also help assess the practices staff use to promote patient and family engagement and how they are attending to the emotional, social and spiritual needs of both patients and families. Using CipherRounds with a family member of an ICU patient can help identify issues that the families see but don’t know what to do with. It facilitates a caring connection with these family members. In the case of a pediatric patient, using CipherRounds to assess how the staff provides services to meet all the children’s needs is an essential element in the organization’s understanding of how it operates within the Framework.

Leveraging Post-Encounter Touchpoints to Drive PFEC Goals
While it may be tempting to only focus on interactions within the facility, to truly make improvements to patient and family engaged care, organizations must leverage interactions beyond the four walls of the facility. With products such as CipherOutreach post-discharge follow up platform, organizations can understand the efficacy of programs and further engage patients and their families.

CipherOutreach provides a safety net for providers to ensure patients are safe and well-cared for even though they are no longer under their direct care. CipherOutreach can help identify cross-continuum issues in the delivery of care after hospitalization or visits. By using this system, organizations have information for problem-solving and cross-continuum collaboration with home care providers, pharmacies or physician offices.

Both CipherRounds and CipherOutreach can substantially help an organization in the implementation, assessment, and reinforcement of the strategic inputs in an organization. With the investment organizations make into delivering safe patient and family engaged care, CipherRounds and CipherOutreach provide the systems to determine if their investments are working on the achievement of engagement outcomes- culture, costs, care, and health. To see how these technologies can work for your organization, we hope you will stop by our booth at the upcoming Planetree International Conference on Patient-Centered Care.