Making the case for improving the home health patient experience

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By: Melissa Kozak, RN, BSN, President & Co-Founder, CitusHealth

In home-based care, there is a growing imperative to improve the patient experience due to the public reporting of CAHPS survey scores and the implementation of performance-based compensation systems. These industry requirements, along with rising consumer demands, are forcing agencies to find new and innovative ways to bring a more digital experience to home health.

But while the industry is headed in a digital direction — streamlining communication with providers and giving patients and caregivers more control over their health information — many agencies continue to rely on manual methods of operating. Here, we discuss the two main cases for improving the patient experience and how it can have a direct correlation with improved outcomes.

Making the clinical case for improving the patient experience in home health

Improved patient experiences go beyond satisfaction — they can also impact prevention, adherence and outcomes.

	Earlier intervention and disease management The patient experience is directly related to both prevention and disease management. A great example of this is how positive interactions with providers often lead to diabetic patients showing signs of greater self-management skills and quality of life1.
	Adherence to treatment plans Communication with providers often correlates with better adherence to medical advice and treatment plans. For patients with chronic conditions, this is essential for committing to care plans and achieving positive results2.
	Improved health outcomes Studies of patients hospitalized for heart attack showed that more positive reports about their care experiences had better health outcomes one year after discharge3,4.

Making the business case for improving the patient experience in home health

More positive care experiences can affect more than just the patient. They can help simplify compliance, staffing, and relationships — all key financial impacts that are also good for business.

	Employee satisfaction and reduced turnover When the experiences of patients and families are improved, that means work processes and systems are in place to enable staff and clinicians to provide more effective care — which can be a huge indicator of employee satisfaction. A goal of improving patient experience at one hospital resulted in a 4.7% reduction in employee turnover5.
	Helping efforts to lower medical malpractice risk A 2009 study found that for each drop in patient-reported scores along a five-step scale of “very good” to “very poor,” the likelihood of a provider being named in a malpractice suit increased by 21.7%6.
	Good relationships lead to patient loyalty One study found patients reporting the poorest-quality relationships with their physicians were three times more likely to voluntarily leave the physician’s practice than patients with the highest-quality relationships7.

Schedule a CitusHealth demo today to see for yourself how the right technology can improve the patient experience — which can ultimately lead to better clinical outcomes and better business.

References:

1. Greenfield S, Kaplan HS, Ware JE Jr, et al. Patients’ participation in medical care: Effects on blood sugar control and quality of life in diabetes. J Gen Intern Med 1988;3:448-57.

2. Beach MC, Keruly J, Moore RD. Is the quality of the patient-provider relationship associated with better adherence and health outcomes for patients with HIV? J Gen Intern Med 2006;21(6):661-5.

3. Fremont AM, Clearly PD, Hargraves JL, et al. Patient-centered processes of care and long-term outcomes of acute myocardial infarction. J Gen Intern Med 2001;14:800-8.

4. Meterko M, Wright S, Lin H, et al. Mortality among patients with acute myocardial infarction: The influences of patient-centered care and evidence-based medicine. Health Serv Res 2010 Oct;45(5):1188-204.

5. Rave N, Geyer M, Reeder B, et al. Radical systems change: Innovative strategies to improve patient satisfaction.J Ambul Care Manage 2003;26(2):159-74.

6. Fullam F, Garman AN, Johnson TJ, et al. The use of patient satisfaction surveys and alternate coding procedures to predict malpractice risk. Med Care 2009 May;47(5):1-7.

7. Safran DG, Montgomery JE, Chang H, et al. Switching doctors: Predictors of voluntary disenrollment from a primary physician’s practice. J Fam Pract 2001;50(2):130-6.