With rapidly-changing healthcare regulations, ASCs must consider how to deliver high-quality care while pivoting to meet the demands of changing legal and safety requirements. At the same time, patients want more information and they want it to be easily accessible.
Fortunately, better patient communication is mutually beneficial. Enhanced communication means improved patient satisfaction. In turn, this can mean more growth for your ASC.
What do patients want to know?
Patients feel more at ease about their surgery when they are more prepared. An old marketing adage says that consumers need to see a message at least seven times before internalizing it. What does this mean for your ASC?
Patients need multiple reminders and instructions to feel prepared for their surgery. They need to know what to eat or drink—or not to eat or drink—before their appointment. They want to know how early to show up. They want to know what to expect on the day of their surgery. But your staff don’t have time to call, text, and email your patients seven times before their appointment.
How can we communicate better?
A significant challenge in healthcare is a lack of time. It would be ideal to call and speak with every patient multiple times before their surgery appointment. But is this feasible?
Investing in a digital patient engagement solution can be of significant benefit. With the right software, you can integrate information directly from the medical record to trigger specific reminders, instruction, and education. These messages could be particular to the procedure, i.e., a reminder to drink Cologuard 12 hours before the appointment. They could be patient-specific, i.e., remember to stop your blood thinner medication or to bring your CPAP machine with you.
Automating these messages allows staff to focus on patient care instead of spending hours making phone calls. An added benefit is that you can keep all your team members on the same page with individual or role-based group messages. Better communication means better care.
Thinking outside the box
When we consider patient communication, we easily fall into only thinking about the direct contact we have with a patient. But what about the indirect opportunities? For example, when patients are waiting for their surgery, how do they know how long the wait will be? When families are waiting for a loved one in the OR, how do they stay updated?
Consider how a patient tracking board could provide more communication and ease of mind for those in waiting areas. Even the smallest changes can add up to improvements that lead to a boost in patient experience.
Subscribe to our blog to make sure you don’t miss a single post full of tips and information. Comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic or let us know what you’d like us to discuss next!
