Hospitals and health systems must embrace patient-focused care delivery as the new normal for operational workflows and workplace cultures. Putting the patient experience first can pay dividends for clinical operations, finances, and morale.
At a Vituity-sponsored session at the Becker's 10th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, Theo Koury, MD, president of Vituity, and Imamu Tomlinson, MD, CEO of Vituity and president of the Vituity Cares Foundation, led a discussion on how to make patient-centric care a reality:
Four key takeaways were:
- Looking ahead to 2023, healthcare leaders are worried about patient confidence, workforce shortage and hospital closures. "How do we regain patients' confidence, as we continue to lose providers who have been the bedrock for building trusted relationships?" Dr. Koury asked. In rural communities, hospital closures continue at a rapid pace, overwhelming the hospitals that remain. "Rather than patients driving 15 to 20 minutes to their local hospital, they have to drive an hour and a half to get to mine," one participant said. "It's overwhelming my staff, but I can't control those closures."
- Some see technology as a promising solution, but others are more cautious. Opportunities exist, for example, to leverage technology for virtual patient navigation after an individual leaves the ED or inpatient setting. "Our experience with that has been tremendous. We've reduced 30-day readmissions by 36 percent with some of our health partners. But it requires completely redesigning care and looking at individual gaps," one participant explained.
Some roundtable attendees expressed concern that only people with high levels of digital literacy may be willing to use technology solutions as part of their care delivery. Others feared that using technology to address specific care gaps will result in greater fragmentation. "Using technology to solve problems is great, but we need to approach it from a patient perspective, not a health system perspective," a participant said. "How do we care for patients holistically throughout the entire spectrum, rather than individually?"
- Many hospitals and health systems are exploring creative new ways to reach patients. One organization has started running mobile clinics. To communicate with patients, the team uses geofencing and geotracking to push ads to cellular devices within a specified radius of the mobile clinic.
To match high patient demand with access, a Florida health system has incorporated geo tools into office scheduling systems. "If a patient can't get into an office that's 10 minutes away, we can offer them something that's 30 minutes away. It's not ideal, but this approach is helping us meet demand and level load across the system," the participant said.
- Patient-centric care is the key to regaining trust, but one size doesn't fit all. "Rebuilding patient confidence is a passion for me," Dr. Tomlinson said. "Patients must understand that the goal is to focus on their needs and to see them on their terms. At Vituity, we call it Health In Place." Striking a balance between patient-centric and individualized care, however, isn't always easy. Millions of Americans want care delivered in their own way, so a single solution won't work. "We must connect our existing system with solutions that address new needs. We need ways to reach out to patients, interface with them proactively, and guide them through the system using technology," one participant said. The key to success will be providing patients with options, so they can choose which approach works best for them.
There's little doubt that the future of healthcare will focus on the patient. "There are many innovations that put the patient in the center so we can design care around them," Dr. Koury said. "I see energy and ideas; we just need to put them into action. I'm excited about a day when my mother doesn't have to chase down care and figure it out on her own. Instead, the care will go after her and walk her through step-by-step."
Read more about ways to making patient-centric care a reality.