Health First Medical Group wanted to tighten up acute health episode management and begin daily, one-on-one dialogue with patients after they have left the hospital. The organization hoped that enabling meaningful, two-way communication and delivering timely, actionable information to patients would elevate patient satisfaction and “likelihood to recommend” ratings.
Health First also needed a better method for capturing patient reported outcome measures (PROMs). Their previous data collection tool was cumbersome to administer and took valuable clinic time away from patients and providers. As a result, the office had been capturing less than 20 percent of baseline PROM data.
GetWell Loop and Health First worked closely together to establish protocols and care plans for the orthopedic surgeons. After the staff and orthopedic surgeons were trained, GetWell Loop went live.
Then a patient recovering from a total knee replacement showed the real potential for daily engagement.
82%
Patient activation
92%
of patients "extremely likely" to recommend their physician
70%
PROM collection rate
Before this patient underwent knee surgery, his care team used GetWell Loop to ensure he received educational information about the procedure and complications that could arise during
recovery.
As he recovered from his knee replacement, he experienced pressure in his calf that soon turned into pain, cramping and difficulty walking. He couldn’t stop thinking about the symptoms described in GetWell Loop’s educational information.
When the patient’s calf pain worsened, he double-checked the information in GetWell Loop and discovered his symptoms matched the description of a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). If not treated, DVT can result in a pulmonary embolism—an often fatal condition. He knew he needed to call 9-1-1 immediately.
The physicians who cared for the patient told him that call saved his life. The patient thanked his doctors and hospital administrators for using GetWell Loop, and said that without it he would have most likely lacked the information that prompted him to seek help.
GetWell Loop’s personalized educational content before surgery and daily automated check-ins have reduced call volume at Health First’s clinics by over 60 percent. This enables physicians and staff to focus their attention on the patients who need it most. GetWell Loop’s care team notifications have
made it easy for the PAs to respond immediately to patients having problems outside of office hours.
Timely communication is improving outcomes and sparking major improvements in patient satisfaction with their physicians and their overall health care experience.
Health First’s orthopedic surgeons learned from previous PROM collection efforts that without engaging patients through empathetic, specific and friendly reminders, patients are less inclined to report outcomes. GetWell Loop’s PROM tools dramatically increase response rates with lower resource and cost requirements, all while delivering a seamless patient experience. By providing a delightful process to collect outcomes Health First has seen their HCAHPS Star Ratings soar as well as their Healthgrades ratings and comments.
Health First Medical Group: 24 hospital affiliations throughout Brevard County, Fla. / 450 physicians / 40+ specialties: orthopedics, obstetrics, geriatrics, urology, general surgery, family practice and internal medicine
Traditional whiteboards on a wall were more of a tool for staff to communicate with each other. GetWellNetwork’s Interactive Patient Whiteboard turns the focus back to patients and allows them to connect with their caregivers.”
Derek Anderson, MA, BSN, RN, Ortho Neuro Nursing Manager, Kootenai Health