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Show off patient satisfaction scores to drive business

December 27, 2011 by Emmi Solutions

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...

FierceHealthcare.com- If you’ve got it, flaunt it. That’s the message from fiercehealthcare on patient satisfaction scores. Instead of simply looking at 3rdparty patient satisfaction measurement as a hurdle to cross for reimbursement, many organizations are using these scores as marketing tools. Hospitals in California, Minnesota, and elsewhere are posting HCAHPS data on Facebook, Twitter and their websites. The goal is to attract new patients
with the satisfaction of your current ones.Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...

Our Take: This isn’t so much news as confirmation of a new business reality. Most patients are never going to visit a CMS website to compare quality or patient satisfaction scores across organizations. You can be sure, however, that if your rival organization has better scores, that organization will be posting them on billboards, tv spots, social media outlets and more.

It’s marketing-fueled transparency. And it comes with sharper point. It’s possible for all hospitals in a town to provide excellent care or to concurrently promote indistinguishable slogans like, ‘leading medicine on the cutting-edge of science-based research-led care.’ But HCAHPS scores allow for more clear comparisons. They come in percentiles. Your competitor can say, ‘This hospital is better than that one,’ on a billboard and provide a data point that wasn’t previously available. So now it’s improve your HCAHPS scores. Then keep improving them. Or else.

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Posted in HCAHPS, patient engagement, Satisfaction | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Happy Holidays from Engaging the Patient and Emmi Solutions

December 21, 2011 by Emmi Solutions

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Expecting doctors to be perfect is a setup for dysfunction

December 15, 2011 by Emmi Solutions

Perfection doesn't really exist. For example, this town was created in Photoshop.

KevinMD – A couple weeks ago, author and blogger, Dave deBronkart discussed the uncertainty and frustration surrounding patient diagnosis, stating “People who want certainty – physicians or patients – are kidding themselves.  And if we expect docs to be perfect, it’s a setup for dysfunction”.  DeBronkart himself is a cancer survivor with a 50% chance of the cancer returning.  In this article, he discusses how so many things in science and medicine are rooted in uncertainty and suggests that is something patients and physicians alike should accept.  deBronkart then asks, “What do you do in the face of uncertainty? How many sources do you check before you decide to move forward?” and proposes the following:  “Science keeps pushing toward certainty, and disease doesn’t wait. Perhaps if we acknowledged the difficulty of diagnosis, and if more physicians were allowed and willing in our culture to express doubt, patient questions would be welcome and we could work more collaboratively.”  

Our take:  We all want our doctor to be perfect. We expect her to have the latest information at the ready. And for the most part, we don’t want to have to double-check her work. Yet the speed of research easily outpaces the ability of most doctors to keep up. Hundreds of new studies are published each month. And for anybody who is not a sub-sub-sub specialist, the breadth of this knowledge expansion far outstrips the time dedicated to continuing education. E-Dave is right. We need to acknowledge the difficulty of diagnosis, encourage providers to express doubt on the edges of their knowledge, and hop in with two feet to do our own homework where needed. And if you like this piece, check out e-Dave’s fascinating story right here on Engaging the Patient.

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Posted in empathy, Health Literacy, Patient Communication, patient engagement, patient experience, Satisfaction | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

10 Ways Doctors Can Lose Their Patients

December 7, 2011 by Emmi Solutions

KevinMD – In this article, Dominic A. Carone discusses ways doctors can lose patients from a non-physician perspective.  Carone, a practicing Neuropsychologist, observes and speaks with patients about their medical and care provider history.  Over time, he has noticed trends in stories from patients who have changed care providers because they were unsatisfied.  Here’s his top 10: Continue Reading »

Posted in HCAHPS, Patient Communication, Patient Education, patient engagement, patient experience | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

What to Make of the Slowdown in Online Health Searches

December 1, 2011 by Emmi Solutions

iHealthBeat.com - A recent study conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change suggests that US residents aren’t using the internet to educate themselves about their health as much as they have in recent years.  According to the research, in 2010, half of all U.S. adults looked for information regarding personal health issues from sources other than their doctor within the previous 12 months, which is down from 55.5% in 2007.

“The very abundance of information sources available about health– particularly on the Internet—may well be contributing to information overload, anxiety and confusion by some consumers”, says researcher Ha Tu.

Our Take:   Patients want timely, understandable information about their condition, their body, their outlook. The internet provides a wealth of information but little filtering. It asks the patient to figure out what is relevant, what is credible, what is rumor. While patients clearly need to be their own advocates, they also need help. There is a lot of room, and a voracious need for doctors to better direct patients to digital information that is concise, understandable and relevant to the patient’s specific issue.

Posted in Internet, Internet Use, patient engagement, Technology | Tagged , | Comments Off

5 Reasons Physicians Will Love Mobile Health

November 30, 2011 by Emmi Solutions

KevinMD- A recent article by consultant, blogger and former cardiologist  Dr. David Lee Scher, highlights five ways by which mobile health technology will enhance the lives of doctors and patients alike.  Scher discusses how mobile technology aims to increase patient engagement, improve communication, and ultimately enhance doctor-patient relationships.  Here’s a quick excerpt:

”An estimated 75% of physicians have either an iPhone or iPad. They are adopting EHR (electronic health record) technology and are busier than ever. Mobile health promotes patients as partners in healthcare and a coordinated care effort involving the patient, caregiver, and provider. As a practicing physician, I recognized the utility of EHRs and remote monitoring (of cardiac rhythm devices). I look forward to the many possibilities of mHealth improving the quality of practice for physicians.”

Our Take:  This article is a great illustration of how mobile technology can be adopted by the healthcare industry.  Here at Engaging the Patient, we see mobile as yet another tactic in the push to get patients and clinicians closer aligned. Mobile technology alone will not transform the patient-clinician relationship. But where there’s already a will, mobile technology is a great way to push engagement forward.  

Posted in patient engagement | 1 Comment »

Baby Basics and the What to Expect Foundation

November 10, 2011 by Emmi Solutions

Lisa Bernstein is the Executive Director and co-founder of The What To Expect Foundation.

Lisa Bernstein- The What To Expect Foundation’s Baby Basics Prenatal Health Literacy Program has a group (and other components) that are all created to work with and for everyone that cares about healthy pregnancies. Here are the components:

The Baby Basics book and planner

Each expecting mom receives a copy of Baby Basics or Hola Bebe, an evidence-based prenatal guide that is health literate, culturally competent, and fun to read. For some mothers it is the only written source of comprehensive information for their pregnancy, for other moms it can be the first book they have ever wanted to read, or even owned. The planner is a portable medical record that gives moms a place to write down questions and important information, and coordinate her appointments. Continue Reading »

Posted in Patient Communication, patient engagement, patient experience, Patient-Centered Care, Shared Decision-Making | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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