During the “Maximizing Patient and Staff Experiences Using CipherRounds” panel at CipherHealth’s Partners in Excellence User Conference, several world-renowned organizations came together to discuss how they’ve utilized their rounding program to delight both patients and staff members.
Staff Input Matters at Akron
Carol Korman MSN RN-BC of Akrons Children’s Hospital kicked off the panel by sharing Akron’s purpose: “Support a culture of continuous learning and professional growth by applying rounding best practices of rounding in a non-traditional population.” Akron Children’s, which has been ranked as Best Children’s Hospital by US News & World Report is recognized by Magnet for its nursing excellence is the largest independent pediatric provider in northern Ohio. Korman reviewed Akron’s CipherRounds program and implementation, which kicked off in September 2017 and went live in early 2018. Among the lessons learned during implementation were as follows:
- The need to engage staff in the development of the CipherRounds script
- The importance of sharing success stories and addressing barriers early on
As a result of staff involvement in the implementation of the CipherRounds tool, Akron Children’s was able to reinforce its purpose and strengthen the connection between front-line staff and patients.
Disruptive Technology at Prime
Another organization that is committed to engaging its staff is Prime Healthcare. Prime Healthcare is an acute care provider with 45,000 employees across 45 Hospitals in 14 States. Prime has improved HCAHPS Overall Rating of the Hospital faster than the nationwide average and its closest competitors. Steve Meth JD, Chief Patient Experience Officer at Prime Healthcare, attributes part of Prime’s success to 1:1 coaching of rounders, monthly community rounding forums, and leadership rounding transparency. Furthermore, by aligning CipherRounds scripts with HCAHPS domains and continually assessing the effectiveness of the program, Prime has saved over $3.4 million through VBP since 2016. Although VBP is billed as revenue neutral, more hospitals lose money than see additional revenue, within VBP.
Targeted Service Recovery at Northwell
The panel ended with Shaghayegh Norouzzadeh PhD, Assistant Director of Clinical Transformation at Northwell Health, sharing her targeted service recovery model and reliability processes. Northwell Health is New York’s largest private employer and health care provider, with 23 hospitals and more than 700 outpatient facilities. Norouzzadeh stresses the importance of including all components of the patient experience bundle, which includes communication, logistics, basic needs/comfort, and environment, to drive change in patient outcomes.
As each of these organizations demonstrates, a comprehensive patient engagement strategy not only focuses on patients but also on staff. By including staff in the rounding process, whether its through their feedback during a patient rounds implementation or a separate staff rounding program, organizations are able to capture feedback from those at the front-line and better serve those in their communities.
