“Whether it is recorded pre-arrival instructions or automated follow-up calls and texts, patients benefit from the extra touch points and care from their ASC. The key takeaway for ASC leaders is that to successfully manage increasing patient volumes and government regulations, they must find the right technology partners to drive effective and consistent patient engagement.” Said Devraj Mukherjee, Director, Market Development at CipherHealth.
Here are three reasons why ASCs should prioritize patient engagement:
1. To be more competitive in the market.
Over the past few years, there has been significant growth in the number of patients coming to ASCs for elective and sub-acute procedures. The number of surgical specialties offered at ASCs are also on the rise. Making manual calls to patients pre and post-surgery is a labor-intensive and often inconsistent process for many surgery centers. In order to become a competitive player, adequate and consistent patient engagement is critical in improving surgery success rates, reducing complications, and providing a top-quality experience.
2. To raise OAS CAHPS scores.
The recently mandated OAS CAHPS survey is focused on the patient's experience at the ASC and asks questions about clinical aspects tied to satisfaction, such as communications about the procedure prior to arrival and clarity of discharge instructions post-op. The introduction of OAS CAHPS challenges ASCs to focus attention on driving patient satisfaction improvements and virtually mandates ASCs to find effective ways to connect with the patient outside of the surgery center.
3. To prevent avoidable post-op hospital admissions and adverse events.
ASCs are now able to perform more complex surgeries at their sites. These surgeries include total joint replacements, as well as spinal fusion surgeries. “We are seeing an increasing trend in ASCs being built to offer these services exclusively and in multi-specialty surgery centers beginning total joint replacement or spine programs.” Said Mukherjee. “As the acuity of procedures performed at ASCs continue to grow, the need to engage with patients outside the ASC is even more imperative to make sure adverse events are avoided.”
For more information on how patient engagement technology can be used to drive surgical center improvements, visit CipherHealth at booth #41 at the upcoming Becker’s ASC 23rd Annual Meeting in Chicago or contact Dev Mukherjee at dmukherjee@cipherhealth.com or (908) 655-7565.