Jun
06
2017

Using Technology for Tailored Patient Engagement

Effectively engaging patients and their families in care is a proven method of increasing compliance, outcomes, and satisfaction. The challenge for healthcare providers is engaging patients in ways that create meaningful interactions capable of delivering positive results. When it comes to effectively engaging patients, most often it comes down to communicating with in the right way, at the right time.

Additionally, as value-based care models continue to change, patient engagement will play an increasingly important role. In order to improve the quality and quantity of patient touchpoints both inside and outside of a care facility, providers need to implement proven methods of engagement that drive improvements and consistently meet KPIs. With the majority of resources focused on in-facility patient interactions, providers must find ways of effectively engaging patients post-discharge without adding additional FTEs. They will need solutions and programs that engage patients in the following ways:

Communicate with patients in their preferred language
Use the right modality of engagement
Personalize communication to the patient’s DRG and care program

Achieving success is challenging because the process for this type of engagement is resource-consuming. By using technology such as CipherHealth’s Voice follow-up or population health outreach solution, tailored outreach can be streamlined to help close the loop on patient issues and achieve positive results.

By customizing outreach by language, modality, and DRG, it is easier to send tailored messages to patients that monitor status, encourages compliance, and alerts providers to potential issues. By asking tailored DRG-specific or care program-related questions, providers can gather relevant information and prevent adverse events before they occur.

Providing outreach via the appropriate modality (call, texts or emails) and the right language will increase patient’s likelihood of engagement, driving further results. With a higher-volume of engaged patients and a streamlined approach to follow up, your organization will be able to meet KPIs such as lowered readmission rates or increased preventive screenings.

Visit our website to learn more about how Voice’s features help drive improvements for your organization cost-effectively and efficiently

Tags: post-discharge follow-up solution, Quality Patient Care, reducing 30 day readmissions, Voice

Mar
17
2016

Purposeful Rounding and Patient Safety

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As you may know, this week is National Patient Safety Awareness Week, and we are exploring simple, yet effective ways that hospitals keep patients safe. Today, we will be exploring how rounding can have extremely positive impacts on patient safety.

The idea of rounding on patients has been around for decades; however, it was not until recently that healthcare providers started emphasizing rounding as a means of keeping patients safe. Purposeful rounding, hourly rounding, leadership rounding, and environment of care rounding are all proven to have a strong positive correlation with patient safety.Almost every type of rounding plays a large part in patient safety initiatives. Whether it is hourly rounding to ensure patients have their possessions, or environment of care rounds to ensure patient rooms are set up properly, there are countless ways rounding can help avoid preventable adverse events, such as hospital-acquired infections, falls, or readmissions.

Rounding and Patient Safety

After Stanford Health Care implemented its purposeful rounding initiative in 2012, it has seen dramatic improvements in call light usage, patient satisfaction, and falls. For Stanford, purposeful rounding means using a structured hourly rounding process.

We have seen similar results when our partner organizations choose to use Orchid for their own rounding initiatives. Incorporating technology into the rounding process, with custom scripts and in-depth reports, adds purpose to rounds. Using digital flags within the Orchid app, Sentara Healthcare was able to reduce falls per 1,000 patient stays by 78%. You can click here to read the case study.

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How to enact change at your organization

Enacting change in any industry requires dedication, and on occasion, culture changes. This is especially true when addressing patient safety issues. What we have seen is that when hospital leaders emphasize the need and hold staff accountable for patient safety, hourly rounds start having a purpose – to ensure patients are safe. While building a strong culture is no easy task, it is a crucial step in gaining staff buy-in and proactively resolving issues.

To achieve results similar to Stanford or Sentara, simply enhancing the rounding process is not enough. Organizations must be prepared to analyze and act upon the data that they collect during rounds in order to make lasting changes. Leadership must recognize the value of the rounding initiative, gather the data to validate it, and convey the value to front-line staff.

For more information on rounding and how it can improve patient safety, be sure to visitwww.cipherhealth.com/orchid and contact us for additional case studies and overviews. Visit National Patient Safety Organization to learn how you can join the campaign and keep patients safe.

Tags: Executive Rounding, Hospital Rounding, Improving the patient experience, Leader Rounding, Nurse Rounding, Patient Safety, Quality Patient Care

Feb
10
2016

St. Joseph’s and Upstate University Recognized for High-Quality Care

Congratulations to St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center and Upstate University Hospital for their outstanding achievements in delivering high-quality patient care! St. Joseph’s and Upstate were among eight regional hospitals recently awarded quality improvement payments by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

With patient-centered initiatives and innovative solutions, these hospitals continue to demonstrate a commitment to clinical excellence and optimal health outcomes. Excellus has recognized these organizations specifically for their improvements in clinical processes of care, patient safety (reducing hospital-acquired infections, falls, and readmissions), and patient satisfaction scores. We are thrilled to partner with these organizations to help in their missions of providing the highest quality care.

Tags: High-Quality Care, Infection Control, Patient Safety, patient satisfaction, PR, Quality of Care, Quality Patient Care, readmission reduction

Countdown to the IMPACT Act – New Discharge Planning Requirements

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed a revision of the discharge planning requirements that healthcare organizations must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. This requirement would affect not only acute care hospitals, but also long-term care hospitals (LTCHs), inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), critical access hospitals (CAHs), and home health agencies (HHAs).

The proposed changes would implement the discharge planning requirements of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014, which aims to improve consumer transparency and beneficiary experience during the discharge planning process across post-acute care (PAC) settings.

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The New Requirements:

As called for in the IMPACT Act, affected organizations must:

Provide discharge instructions to patients who are discharged to their home

Have a medication reconciliation process to enhance medication management and improve patient safety

For patients who are transferred to another facility, send specific medical information to the receiving facility

Establish a post-discharge follow-up process

Under the new requirements, the care team must develop a discharge plan within 24 hours of admission or registration, and complete a discharge plan before the patient is sent home or to another facility. This applies to all inpatients and certain outpatients, including those receiving observation services, undergoing surgery or other same-day procedures, and emergency department patients who have been identified as needing a discharge plan.

Putting Patients at the Center of their Care

Under the IMPACT Act, hospitals, CAHs, and certain PAC providers will be required to collect and report data on both quality and resource use measures. Increased data collection will help improve care delivery in a number of ways, including the discharge planning process. With access to standardized and robust data, patients and caregivers will be able to more easily compare PAC providers on quality and outcomes. Patients can then select the provider that best meets their needs and preferences, making them active contributors to the discharge planning process.

In addition to assisting patients in making well-informed placement decisions, the new policy would give patients greater opportunities to voice their preferences. Before being placed in the next setting of care, patients will be asked what is most important to them regarding treatment and recovery. Their preferences will be a key factor in placement decisions. Policies like this put real meaning behind the words, “consumer-centered healthcare.”

By requiring providers to develop comprehensive discharge plans and by putting patients at the center of care delivery, CMS’ proposed rule aims to achieve better care, smarter spending, and healthier people.

To see how CipherHealth’s patient engagement and care coordination solutions can help you comply with the new discharge planning requirements, contact us today or download our IMPACT Act overview.

Learn More

Tags: Care Transitions, CMS, Discharge Planning, Home Health, IMPACT Act, Long-Term Care, Post Discharge Follow Up, Post-Acute Care, Quality Patient Care, Skilled Nursing Facility Care

Feb
09
2016

The Misconceptions of Patient-Centered Care: Myth #2

Over the last thirty years, patient-centered care has gone from being merely an idealistic concept to a fundamental and expected approach to care delivery. Today, Planetree, a non profit organization, leads the charge in the advancement of such care practices. In this series, we discuss and disprove the myths that Planetree has identified as challenges to achieving patient-centered care.

Before debunking these myths, it is important to explain what we mean by “patient-centered care.” As defined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), it is “providing care that is respectful and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions.” In short? It means taking the patient into consideration when making clinical decisions.

Today, we address the following myth: Providing patient-centered care is the job of nurses

That’s Why We Have Nurses, Right?

While it is not inaccurate to say that patient care is a primary responsibility of nurses, it is inaccurate to say that patient care is exclusively the job of nurses. This misconception often stems the belief that hospital leaders should be spending their time “behind the scenes,” handling functions such as the organization’s finance, strategy, and equipment. Once you enter the C-Suite, directly interacting with patients is no longer part of the job description, and it is up to the nurses on the frontlines to make sure patients are safe, healthy, and happy.

Responsibility Does Not Fall on the Shoulders of One…

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…It falls on the shoulders of many. Patient-centered care is a universal responsibility within the hospital, and should be a key focus of everyone from administrative personnel to medical staff. Team members in every department, at every tier of the organization, in both clinical and non-clinical roles, contribute to the overall patient experience. Whether it is dietary aide delivering a patient’s meal or an infection control coordinator ensuring proper hand hygiene, every staff member works to promote excellent patient care.

Patient-Centered Care Comes from Empowered Staff

Building a patient-centered culture is only possible when all caregivers recognize their contributions, and feel empowered to go above and beyond their basic job descriptions. This sense of empowerment stems from hospital leaders. When leaders equip their team with effective resources, recognize their achievements, and support their development, staff can work to their highest potential and optimize care. In this way, team members at all levels of the organization contribute to the delivery of patient-centered care.

For more information on patient-centered care please visit Planetree, and to see how patient-centered care initiatives have benefited other organizations, contact us today.

Tags: Improving the patient experience, patient satisfaction, Patient-Centered Care, Quality Patient Care, staff satisfaction

What the CARE Act Means for Hospitals

The CARE (Care, Advise, Record, Enable) Act is designed to support family caregivers as they help their loved ones during and after hospitalizations. To encourage hospitals to become more patient- and family-focused in their care practices, hospitals are required to provide caregivers with the necessary information to properly assist their loved ones at home. To date, the law has been passed or enacted by 18 states.

What challenges does the CARE Act address? Continue reading “What the CARE Act Means for Hospitals” »

Tags: CARE Act, Care Transitions, Caregiver Satisfaction, Echo, Home Health, patient satisfaction, Quality Patient Care, Recording Discharge Instructions

Feb
08
2016

An Adorable Proposal from a 5-year-old to his Favorite Nurse

Five-year-old Gideon has been in treatment for Leukemia since November, but that hasn’t stopped him from planning a “hospital marriage” with his favorite nurse, “Tall Sarah.” Gideon drops down to one knee, shows off his handmade ring, and pops the big question! Take a look at the proposal.

Tags: Children's Health, Patient-Centered Care, Quality Patient Care

Feb
02
2016

The Misconceptions of Patient-Centered Care: Myth #1

Today, we address the following myth: Patient-centered care is “nice,” but it’s not important.

The Doctor Always Knows Best, Right?

Those who align with this outdated perception might argue that since the patient’s preferences do not have much clinical bearing, providers should not use them to guide clinical decisions. As an expert in medicine, the clinician should have full control over the patient’s care.

Not Necessarily.

While care providers certainly have the knowledge and experience to make informed clinical decisions, the patient must always have a say. Listening to and acting upon the patient’s wishes helps to establish trust, ultimately leading to a more positive patient outcome.

Patients have the greatest insight into their own lifestyles and goals. Their preferences influence medication adherence, diagnosis and treatment comprehension, and their overall safety. The degree to which patients’ voices are heard can influence how fast they recover, whether or not they will be readmitted, and their overall health outcomes.

But Will It Really Help My Organization?

When patients are brought into the care process, they are more satisfied with the care they receive. With CMS regulations tying HCAHPS scores, a measure of patient satisfaction, to value-based purchasing bonuses, hospitals now profit from happier patients. However, the positive impact of patient-centered care initiatives on the patient experience lasts far longer than a VBP bonus cycle. When patients believe that their needs were properly met by care providers, they are likely to return for future visits and refer others to do the same.

In all, while patient-centered care might have once been viewed as simply a “nice gesture”, it is of paramount importance for the overall health of the patient and the financial wellbeing of the organization.

For more information on patient-centered care please visit Planetree, and to see how patient-centered care initiatives have benefited other organizations, contact us today.

Tags: HCAHPS, High-Quality Care, Improving the patient experience, patient satisfaction, Patient-Centered Care, Quality Patient Care

Jan
26
2016

HealthAlliance Leverages CipherHealth’s Technology to Improve the Patient Experience

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HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley has taken proactive steps to optimize patient care by investing in technology to improve the patient experience and maximize valuable staff time. Six months ago, HealthAlliance implemented Orchid, CipherHealth’s digital rounding solution, to add efficiency and consistency to nurse rounds.

HealthAlliance was recently featured on RNN News for their success with the rounding program, among other initiatives. Watch the video to hear from Jose Serpa, Administrative Director for Quality and Performance Improvement, how Orchid has helped the organization focus on and improve what matters most: “not only the care that [they] deliver, but also the patient experience.”

Contact CipherHealth today for a demo of Orchid, or to learn more about our proven patient engagement solutions.

Schedule a Demo

Tags: Digital Rounding, Improving the patient experience, Nurse Rounding, Orchid, Quality of Care, Quality Patient Care, Technology

Jan
13
2016

5 Ways to Optimize your Post-Discharge Outreach

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With increasing focus on the care continuum instead of an individual patient episode, providers are being held accountable for treating and monitoring patients both inside and outside the hospital. To encourage positive long-term outcomes and patient loyalty, organizations must follow up with 100% of their discharged patients. This additional touchpoint is an opportunity for providers to answer any questions that patients have regarding treatment or recovery, ultimately helping to reduce readmissions and enhance perceptions of care.

The question for organizations then is not whether they should invest in a follow-up solution, but rather, how they can ensure that their solution is most effective. We have outlined several best-practices that are shown to improve care transitions and patient outcomes, and reduce 30-day readmission rates.

Customizable Follow-Up Questions
- Follow up should not be viewed as a “one size fits all” practice. Patients arrive at the hospital with diverse medical histories, diagnoses, and symptoms, and the follow up administered should be sensitive to these differences. To ensure that feedback promotes positive health for all patients, follow-up questions should be specific and meaningful to the circumstance of each individual.

Timely Responses
- Although patient feedback at any point post-discharge is valuable, it is most impactful within a day or two of leaving the hospital. With timely responses, patients can better recount their experiences in detail and providers can also address any patient concerns and prevent adverse events.

Real-Time Issue Resolution
- Post-discharge follow up is most beneficial when providers have access to patient feedback in real time as many patient issues, such as filling a prescription, is time sensitive. Giving care providers a channel to address and resolve time sensitive issues is a key factor in decreasing readmissions and avoidable complications.

Consistent Outreach
- The initial 30 days after a hospital visit sees elevated rates of readmissions, as complications and questions regarding post-discharge care are common. Patient outreach is critical during this time period, and should occur multiple times over the 30-day window. This consistent outreach helps address patients’ changing needs during recovery.

Combination of Automated and Manual Outreach
- While providers have differing views on the benefits of manual versus automated outreach, an advanced follow-up process takes a hybrid approach, combining electronic and live provider contact. Utilizing automated outreach to identify and triage patient issues helps maximize valuable staff time. Staff can then provide manual outreach to any patients that require additional assistance, ensuring all issues are resolved promptly and effectively.

Effective post-discharge follow up leads to a number of important benefits for patients by enhancing communication with providers, improving care transitions, and reducing the time required to resolve issues. To ensure that post-charge follow up derives these benefits for both patients and caregivers, organizations should continually rethink and build upon the system that they have in place.

CipherHealth works with organizations to optimize post-discharge patient follow up. Voice, our follow-up calling platform combines automated and manual outreach to improve patient outcomes and reduce readmissions. Click the link below to learn more about Voice or request a demo.

Reduce your readmissions

Tags: Improving the patient experience, Patient Outreach, Post Discharge Follow Up, Quality Patient Care, readmission reduction, readmissions reduction solution, reducing 30 day readmissions, VBP, Voice

Tag Archives/ Quality Patient Care

Using Technology for Tailored Patient Engagement

Purposeful Rounding and Patient Safety

St. Joseph’s and Upstate University Recognized for High-Quality Care

Countdown to the IMPACT Act – New Discharge Planning Requirements

The Misconceptions of Patient-Centered Care: Myth #2

What the CARE Act Means for Hospitals

An Adorable Proposal from a 5-year-old to his Favorite Nurse

The Misconceptions of Patient-Centered Care: Myth #1

HealthAlliance Leverages CipherHealth’s Technology to Improve the Patient Experience

5 Ways to Optimize your Post-Discharge Outreach

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