New Study Shows Digital Patient Rounding Increases Patient Engagement Scores

Study of more than 70,000 patients illustrates transformative effects of CipherHealth rounding solutions on patient experience

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — CipherHealth, a leader and innovator in patient-centered communications, engagement, and insights for the nation’s leading healthcare systems, today announced the results of a new study that draws clear lines between CipherHealth’s CipherRounds solution and increases to critical top box scores in Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys.

The study, which drew on HCAHPS scores from 70,600 patients over 36 months, found that patients who were rounded on using CipherHealth reported higher patient experience scores related to communication than those who didn’t receive a round. Out of all the health systems evaluated, an impressive 85.7% saw increases in two HCAHPS domains or more.

The study quantified the percentages of HCAHPS top box responses, a term given to the best possible response on HCAHPS surveys. Not only did the use of CipherRounds result in higher top box scores in domains like Response of Hospital Staff, Medicine Communication, and Discharge Information; higher rounding script completion rates were associated with even bigger increases in several of the same key domains.

HCAHPS scores are critical metrics for hospitals and health systems. They not only give a view into the voice of the patient and serve as a key element of a hospital’s reputation, but also affect government reimbursement for services.

“This study offers proof positive validation of the important role digital rounding plays in the patient experience ecosystem,” said CipherHealth Vice President of Analytics Solutions, Jeff Fuller. “Given the dramatic effects we’re seeing on HCAHPS scores—seven percent jumps in some cases—it’s also clear that purposeful rounding is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s a patient engagement tool that can have a direct downstream impact on scores, reimbursement, and the bottom line.”

Good communication and education is essential in inpatient healthcare environments, and rounding is an invaluable tool. Traditional rounding, however, uses manual processes that can result in inconsistent documentation and experience. Purposeful digital rounding not only ensures consistent processes, but enables real-time action and coordination upon receiving patient feedback, feeding into better experiences, better data and analytics, and more-informed operational decisions.

The study found that patients who had received at least one CipherRound during their inpatient stay had higher top box scores in 3 HCAHPS measures: Response of Hospital Staff, Medicine Communication, and Discharge Information. The domain with the biggest increase was the Response of Hospital Staff with a 3.5 percentage point difference.

As the rate of survey completion ticked up, so did top box scores. Patients who received at least one round and completed 50% or more of the rounding script had higher top box scores in four HCAHPS measures: Response of Hospital Staff, Medicine Communication, Nurse Communication, and Discharge Information. The domain with the biggest increase was again the Response of Hospital Staff with a 7.1 percentage point difference.

To read more about the study, click here.

CipherHealth is an award-winning digital patient engagement company committed to enhancing communication and coordination throughout the care continuum. Since 2009, CipherHealth has helped define the patient engagement category, delivering groundbreaking tools and superior services to help health systems deliver patient-centric, quality care that improves clinical outcomes, drives operational efficiency, and creates sustainable financial value through a full suite of communications solutions. CipherHealth’s automated, scalable platform empowers healthcare organizations to drive meaningful conversations among patients, provider staff and caregivers, regardless of care setting, thereby achieving new standards for patient care and accelerating the digital transformation of the industry.