A focus of many hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and clinicians is improving surgical outcomes. Better outcomes often start with better communication. Communication is consistent and in the moment when the patient is in the hospital. After, they go home, things change. It has many healthcare professionals of trying to bridge that gap. One answer is patient texting.
Improving Post-Op Recovery Is Good for All
It’s critical to improve post-op recovery for patients for many reasons. Delivering better care and the ability to reduce admissions are two motivators. Not only do these providers care about their patient outcomes and recovery experience, but the information is now publicly searchable on sites like Healthgrades.com. Healthgrades lists every provider in the country who has an active profile with the National Provider Identifier (NPI) Registry. These grades go a long way to inform and influence patients.
Improving the Patient Experience
In turn, clinicians work to put their best foot forward, and we aren’t just talking about podiatrists. Surgeons and surgical facilities have undertaken initiatives to improve the patient experience. They are finding ways to make the recovery period (often the most critical time for a patient) as positive as possible. Many third-party insurance companies have also begun to reduce reimbursement for post op complications that are considered “reasonably preventable.” Adhering to best practice measures to reduce those complications leads to improved quality of care.
Programs like the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program or The Joint Commission’s Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measure the quality of surgical care and outcomes, as well as encourage hospitals to develop quality initiatives. In today’s modern age, it’s no surprise that texting has been incorporated in these improvement initiatives.
Communication Is Key
Why does texting come up as suggested tool for improving patient post-op recovery? Because it’s all about communication. Improve communication, enhance outcomes.
Programs like SCIP focus on a prophylactic approach, preventing post op issues prior to surgery with antibiotic stewardship, appropriate use of cardiac medication, blood sugar control, and Venous Thromboembolism (VTE). However, individual providers and facilities have to be proactive and reactive.
Transitioning to At-Home Patient Communication
After a surgery, the patient transitions to the recovery phase, a stage where they’re sometimes at the greatest risk. Some patients will recover in the PACU (depending on the type of anesthesia and the procedure type). Others may recover in the ICU or Day Surgery.
When these patients are under 24/7 supervision, things tend to go well with medical staff addressing issues in real-time. However, when that patient goes home, communicating with care providers is relegated back to answering services. After discharge, patients have questions about prescriptions or need to talk to a provider about pain control, fevers, or other symptoms. When this communication is delayed, it can be serious, even potentially fatal. Patients will often present back in the ED for management of these post-op complications and that can lead to readmissions.
Both hospitals and payers have incentive to improve the post-op experience and improved communication can help achieve it. But how can clinicians and patients connect without the runaround of call centers or the frustration of endless voicemails? By engaging technology and doing it in a way that provides convenience and security. Enter secure texting.
Why Secure Texting Has the Upperhand
Secure texting technology provides a way for patients and providers to communicate at any stage in the care cycle, but postoperatively when the patient is home and disconnected from the care team, it can have huge impacts! A HIPAA-compliant secure texting app allows the patient to send the provider protected health information (PHI) and get responses in real time. Here are a few examples:
Fever Control
Infection Symptom Report
Mediation Clarification
Quick Communication Yield Better Outcomes
Because the provider can respond to these issues in real-time, they can head-off more serious complications down the line. A secure text conversation that takes 60 seconds to complete is far superior to the hours of waiting on returned calls.
Another advantage to using a secure texting app is the ability to send images to the clinician. When the app has a HIPPA-camera, images can be shared securely, and we all know a picture is worth 1,000 words. These may assist a physician in determining if the wound is healing properly or requires special care.
Not All Texting Is Created Equally
When you’re preparing to kick-off a post-op improvement initiative and incorporate secure texting, there are a few things you should be looking for in a vendor.
- Make sure the vendor is HIPAA-Compliant and uses state-of-the-art dual key encryption.
- Keep the data behind your firewall, not theirs! Some vendors store your messaging data (and the data of all of their customers), which makes them huge targets for hackers. Insist on cloud pass-through technology.
- Texting alone isn’t enough, patients and providers will want to send images in confidence so select a vendor with a HIPAA Camera.
- Lastly, choose a vendor that has experienced implementation staff. Why reinvent the wheel? Your chosen provider should be able to guide you on your path to improving post op recovery. Ideally these implementation specialists will have a clinical background and truly understand your business.
Learn more about how QliqSOFT delivers patient texting solutions by getting in touch.
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