A report in Healthcare IT News, “Strategies to Maximize Patient Engagement and Retention,” observed that the healthcare industry is evolving to a model where patients
are approaching their healthcare as consumers. As a result, patients’ expectations of an “exceptional care experience” are requiring that providers start engaging patients not only
during office visits, but throughout the care continuum. To achieve this end, the single most important component is communication.
Gaps in communication often occur because
of time constraints on physicians and office staff. In fact, a study at the University of Missouri’s Sinclair School of Nursing, published in the April/June 2014 issue of Nursing Care
Quality, found that clinical staff spends an average of two hours per day making calls to clarify patient medication orders. In addition, it often takes physicians an hour to respond to a
voicemail message.
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Patients are feeling the time crunch, too. According to a February 2015 survey by Nuance Communications, “Healthcare from the Patient’s
Perspective,” which surveyed over 3,600 patients, more than 30% of them spent less than 10 minutes with their physician during an average visit. Even worse, 40% of patients felt rushed during
appointments.
One way to keep patients engaged and active in their care is by using a nurse-staffed call center to help fill the gaps between office visits.
Call centers can benefit patients by engaging them across several touchpoints:
- Being there. If a patient needs a quick evaluation or has a question about a
change in their health, a nurse-staffed call center can determine whether or not the situation needs urgent action. For new patients, making it easy to get into the practice’s system by helping
them make an appointment or get a referral ensures that the patient’s initial experience is a good one.
- Following up. When patients leave the office,
they are on their own. Wellness calls help reinforce what patients were told during their office visit and can give them clarification on a doctor’s instructions. These calls can also be
leveraged as opportunities for education—for instance, sharing an instructional video or article about their condition can help patients stay engaged and on track.
- Staying connected. Discussing test results and next steps, giving appointment reminders, helping patients keep track of prescription refills, and providing them with guidance all
positively affect a patient’s experience with their provider.
According to HIMSS Analytics' 2014 Telemedicine Study, the need to fill care-continuum gaps is what
drives providers to adopt telemedicine solutions.
Forty-three percent of respondents to the web-based survey said their primary motivation behind investing in telemedicine tools was
filling in gaps. Nearly 16% of those cited the removal of barriers to patient care as their main reason for deciding to use telemedicine.
The Healthcare IT News report noted
that gaps most commonly occur when providing patient education, educating newly insured patients, fielding unscheduled appointments, and performing patient follow-up. By using a dedicated call center
instead of staff for patient communication, healthcare practices can close communication gaps and leave providers free to focus on the patient care experience.