Patients of all ages are increasingly demanding a higher quality of service from their healthcare providers, so much so that patient satisfaction has become a top priority for C-level executives.
In a recent study, 64 percent of healthcare professionals said their organizations value patient satisfaction as much as patient safety and clinical workflow improvements – and that the key to patient satisfaction is meaningful and effective doctor-patient communication.
Research also shows that despite the technical quality of care delivered, communication and empathy are the main tellers of patient satisfaction. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, patient satisfaction can improve patient retention rates, secure a positive local reputation and prevent possible malpractice suits. As patients continue to assume more of a consumer role in their own healthcare, no medical organization can afford to downplay the importance of the patient experience and patient satisfaction.
The Status Quo of Patient Communications
Sustaining, no less exceeding, patient satisfaction is just one of several profound challenges currently posed to ambulatory surgery center (ASC) administrators. Today’s patients simply want more and better access to their physicians, and they want to have the option to engage with their surgeons, doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners on the medium of their choice.
Increasingly the communications medium of choice is text. However, most ASC’s continue to rely on emails, which only have a 22 percent open rate and a 6 percent response rate. By comparison, text messages have a 99 percent open rate – 90 percent of which are read within three minutes of receipt. In fact, 76 percent of patients believe that texts are more convenient than a phone call.
This disconnect between physician and patient communication preference not only costs ASC’s money, but also puts their patients at risk. Medical staff spend up to 8.7 hours a day on administrative tasks – costing practices more than $85,000 per year, and a single cancelled surgery can cost between $2,000 and $6,000. When a major U.S. medical center experienced 327 surgical cancellations in one year – 6.7 percent of all their surgeries – it totaled almost $1 million in lost revenue. ASC’s are no exception. In addition, approximately 50 percent of medications for chronic conditions are not taken as prescribed, leading to over 125,000 deaths annually and accounting for approximately 10 percent of all hospitalizations, costing the healthcare system between $100 and $289 billion per year.
The economic plight of many ASC’s means that most facilities cannot afford to lose revenue or employee productivity due to miscommunication and poor patient engagement. More than ever it is the responsibility of facility administrators to create a culture of patient engagement that is conducive to servicing the number of patients required for economic health, stability and growth for the organization overall.
Upping the Stakes with Surgeon-Patient Communications
While doctor-patient communication is a key determinant in adherence to many care plans, the importance of surgeon-patient communication is amplified by the invasiveness, risk and complexity of surgical procedures. There is not only the procedure itself to consider, but a whole host of preoperative and postoperative instructions and medications to manage. Too often surgical patients become so overwhelmed with information and instructions or forget to even follow preoperative instructions completely that procedures must be delayed. Many arrive for their surgery or procedure unprepared, forcing day-of cancellations, costing hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers millions of dollars in revenue each year. Studies have shown that more than 30 percent of surgical patients simply do not show up due to confusion over the procedure date or forgetting about the appointment altogether, while others have not followed the preoperative directions provided. When patients feel prepared for and engaged with their surgical care; however, they are less likely to cancel. Research shows that the cancellation rate for surgical patients with preoperative visits (4 percent) is significantly less than those without preoperative visits (11 percent).
Similarly, research reveals that surgeon-patient communication is critical in mitigating and managing post-operative complications. In fact, such communication is identified as being even more predictive of treatment adherence than satisfaction with outcomes. If a patient does experience post-operative complications, it is critical that they have established trust with their surgeons and healthcare teams in order to ensure continuity of care. Successful surgeon-patient communication can reduce readmissions and save millions when done properly.
Using Secure Messaging to Maximize Patient Engagement
Engaging patients in a proactive and preemptive manner - when patients need detailed information - has the potential to help regulate patients' emotions, facilitate the comprehension of medical information and allow for better identification of patients' needs, perceptions and expectations. Patients who feel that they have a strong relationship with their doctors, surgeons and medical professionals are more likely to be satisfied with their care, share pertinent information for accurate diagnosis of their pre- and post-operative ailments, follow advice, adhere to the prescribed treatment plans and even make referrals to friends.
By deploying an enterprise-grade secure messaging platform for patient engagement, ASC administrators can communicate with patients via text in a targeted, personalized and meaningful manner while also focusing their energy on increasing facility throughput, utilization and patient-loyalty initiatives. Indeed, research shows that automating appointment reminders can save $375 in monthly labor costs, and more than $4,000 a month by eliminating the need for phone calls to share patient information.
Secure messaging can also help prevent and manage costly last-minute surgical cancellations, and automated patient outreach and reminders allow providers to engage with patients to ensure proper pre-operative care. With pre-scheduled, repetitive text messages that can be audited for receipt and read notifications, medical staff can avoid time-consuming manual tasks typically used to mitigate canceled or missed procedures. These communications help staff identify patients who are prepared versus those who might be candidates for rescheduling.
We’re in an era in which patients have more options for surgical care than ever before, thereby putting the burden on ASC’s to exhibit superior engagement on the communications mediums that their patients prefer. Enterprise-grade secure messaging represents a proven way for ASC’s to communicate confidential patient information about upcoming appointments and procedures to engage more often with patients. This unique patient experience keeps the patient in sync with their care plan resulting in increased satisfaction and positive outcomes.
With more than 25 years of industry experience in information management, compliance, eDiscovery and information governance, Kristi Perdue Hinkle has focused her career on helping technology companies create, launch and strengthen their brand, go-to-market, content marketing and lead generation strategies to drive market awareness, brand growth and revenue. Regarded as a subject matter expert on information governance, she speaks and writes on the topic regularly as the Chief Marketing Officer of Vaporstream.