Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) have transformed the outpatient experience by providing same-day surgical care, which may include diagnostic and preventive procedures. Patient no-shows due to last-minute cancellations or lack of compliance with preoperative instructions lead to significant cost burdens for Ambulatory Surgery Centers, as the time slots are rendered obsolete. For private surgical practices, there may not be a backlog of patients who can be scheduled into the empty slots.
Dr. Joy Schwartz of Atlantic Surgical Group conducted a retrospective study investigating the top reasons surgical procedures are cancelled. To address these concerns, she designed a preoperative call conducted by nurses three to five days prior to a surgical procedure. Nurses asked the following three questions:
- Do you have a responsible adult to drive you home?
- Do you understand that you cannot have anything to eat or drink after midnight?
- Do you have any questions about the procedure, including when and where?
Early results suggested that implementing these three simple questions through manual calls has reduced cancellation rates and improved patient satisfaction. The challenge with this type of program; however, is that it may put an additional burden on staff members to complete these calls.
Your Ambulatory Surgery Center can go above and beyond the results achieved by manual calls, all while maximizing your most valuable resource: your staff’s time. Automated outreach allows your team to efficiently engage with 100% of patients, freeing your staff to focus on high-value activities such as resolving issues and addressing concerns for high-risk cases. Automated outreach gives your Ambulatory Surgery Center the enhanced capacity to proactively identify and address patient issues, ensuring that your patients have the information necessary for a seamless care experience.
With CipherHealth’s best-in-class Voice patient outreach platform, your Ambulatory Surgery Center can achieve superior patient engagement and seamless care transitions across the patient journey. For a pre-op outreach program, such as the one outlined in Dr. Schwartz’s study, Voice directly reaches out to patients and asks customized questions. Any issues are automatically routed to designated staff members at the surgery center. Our tailored software can optimize your Ambulatory Surgery Center’s patient engagement workflow from pre-procedure to post-discharge.
To learn how Voice can transform your Ambulatory Surgery Center’s patient outreach strategy, see Voice in action.
