Improving the patient experience has become a top priority for many hospitals and health systems as the industry shifts to value-based care models, under which reimbursement is more closely tied to patient satisfaction than ever before.
In 2007, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement proposed the triple aim — a theoretical model that focuses on improving healthcare quality, access and cost. Many in the industry would say providing better healthcare involves meeting the triple aim or the quadruple aim, which includes the additional goal of improving clinician experience.
To meet the goals of these care improvement models, many healthcare organizations are investing in technology, said Microsoft CMO and Senior Director Simon Kos, MBBS, BSc, during a March 31 webinar sponsored by Tribridge and hosted by Becker's Hospital Review. From EHRs to revenue cycle management solutions, technology can help hospitals and health systems improve patient care and cut costs. However, to truly transform the care continuum, healthcare organizations need to provide more personalized care through the use of analytics, according to Dr. Kos.
Personalized care experiences
Many hospitals and health systems are implementing customer relationship management platforms, which use data-driven analytics to help them provide more personalized care.
Based on the belief that personalized care experiences lead to higher quality and more satisfactory care, Tribridge developed Health360, a CRM-powered population health solution delivered in the Microsoft cloud. The solution leverages data from EMRs and admission, discharge and transfer systems to help healthcare organizations better manage overall care experiences and provide more personalized care.
Remote monitoring and telehealth at Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Damon Auer, vice president of health and life sciences at Tribridge, shared a few examples of the ways healthcare organizations utilize Health360, including Dartmouth-Hitchcock's success story.
During a meeting with Tribridge two years ago, the innovation team at Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock said they were looking for a way to deliver exceptional, personalized care to their patients at a lower cost. To achieve this goal, Dartmouth-Hitchcock created ImagineCare, which leverages Health360 and integrates IoT-enabled devices, including activity trackers, blood pressure cuffs and inhalers, to gather real-time health data and enable remote patient monitoring and proactive telehealth support.
With the information provided through ImagineCare, clinicians can accurately and efficiently monitor patients' conditions and develop personalized care plans. The program also enables clinicians to detect issues and intervene earlier, which can help minimize patient emergencies and complications.
In the first year of the program, Dartmouth-Hitchcock saw a 36 percent reduction in total cost of care, a 23 percent reduction in emergency room utilization and achieved a 95 percent patient satisfaction rating for the population served through ImagineCare.
The patient 'golden record'
Tribridge also worked with an integrated health system that includes more than 20 hospitals and a health plan to help personalize patient interaction and communication.
Mr. Auer said the health system's patient access and member services staff were using multiple programs to piece together disjointed bits of patient information. Recognizing the challenges caused by using fragmented patient information, the health system's vice president of patient access wanted to create a "golden record" for each of its nearly 6 million patients and health plan members. The goal was to pull information from multiple sources to develop a comprehensive record for each patient.
The health system began using Health360, which leverages data from EMRs and other HIT systems to present a consumer-first, 360-degree view of patients. The system used the solution to aggregate data from numerous EMRs and practice management solutions to create a "golden record" for each patient.
The comprehensive patient records enabled staff to work from one system, instead of multiple EMR and PM solutions, and set the foundation for more personalized interactions with patients. Rather than relying on pieces of information from multiple systems, patient access and member services staff are now able to use the "golden record" to better understand patient behaviors, needs and preferences, helping them improve patient satisfaction from the first point of access.
To view a recording of the webinar, click here.