In an era of digital technology and an increasingly complex care continuum, good communication is critical to the patient experience.
"We used to talk about patient satisfaction, and now we talk about patient experience," Chuck Lauer, former publisher of Modern Healthcare wrote in a column for Becker's Hospital Review. "We have a new word because it's about so much more than patient satisfaction. It's also about creating connections with patients, and about how they navigate whole the system."
More than 80 percent of healthcare quality leaders agree: Improving communication between patients and healthcare staff is the No. 1 factor in improving the patient experience, according to an online poll conducted by ASQ.
As healthcare moves from the hospital, to the primary care physician's office, to the outpatient clinic and even into patient's homes, communication becomes the link between clinical efficiency and the patient experience. Making that connection can make all the difference for patients. It drives outcomes — 69 percent of hospital-based accidental deaths and injuries can be traced back to communication failures — and it drives a hospital's bottom line — communication inefficiencies waste $12 billion annually in U.S. hospitals, according to Vocera Communications.
To learn more about how to formulate a sustainable, integrated communications strategy, join Tressa Springmann, vice president and CIO of Baltimore, Md.-based LifeBridge Health, Molly Gamble, editor-in-chief of Becker's Hospital Review, and Gautam "G" Shah, vice president of products for Vocera Communications, for a complimentary webinar October 27.