FEATURE “When patients feel empowered to
be involved in their own health care, they are more committed to taking care of themselves, which is likely to reduce readmissions and lower costs,” she says. “Patients who have great experiences are also more likely to give higher satisfaction scores and become strong referral sources.” LeRoux adds that happy patients do more than just help with the busi- ness; they also help with staff morale. “Nurses like to care for patients. When that care creates great outcomes, those nurses feel wonderful.”
Patient Engagement
Strategies to improve outcomes and increase satisfaction BY ROBERT KURTZ
W good patient
hen an ASC places an empha- sis on patient engagement, care becomes great,
says Holly LeRoux, RN, director of operations for Boulder Community Musculoskeletal Surgery Center in Boulder, Colorado, a Pinnacle III- managed facility. “That is what we strive for,” she says. To Ann Shimek, RN, CASC, ASCA Board member and senior vice presi- dent of clinical operations for United Surgical Partners International (USPI), based in Addison, Texas, making patient engagement a priority goes hand-in-hand with “living our mis- sion statement.” “When you put yourself in the situation of patients and their family members, you humanize the experi- ence,” she says. “When you empha- size that for every decision you make,
Engagement is how we collaboratively deliver great care.”
— Holly LeRoux, RN, Boulder Community Musculoskeletal Surgery Center
patient engagement naturally becomes a high priority.” While supporting efforts to deliver
a great outcome is the most signifi- cant benefit of a focus on patient engagement, there are others as well, says Lisa Ryan, founder of Cleveland, Ohio-based Grategy, which provides training to individuals and organiza- tions on leveraging gratitude in the workplace for higher engagement, retention and recognition.
20 ASC FOCUS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015
Start Early LeRoux views patient engagement as a partnership between the patient, phy- sician, the physician’s support staff and the ASC’s support staff. “Engagement is how we collaboratively deliver great care. Every patient scheduled for sur- gery receives information about the ASC while they are in their physician’s office. This information includes instructions for providing their medical history online at a time that is convenient for them.” Once the perioperative nurse
receives and reviews a patient’s medi- cal history, an ASC staff person calls the patient to discuss it and begins to educate the patient about his or her visit to the surgery center. Before the call
ends, the staff encourages the patient to call back if he or she has any questions. “Each point in the process reinforces a personalized experience for every patient,” she says. An essential component of patient
engagement efforts at USPI facilities is staff members’ use of the “AIDET” framework for communication. This framework was developed by Studer Group, a health care coaching organiza- tion based in Pensacola, Florida, Shimek says. “The ‘A’ stands for acknowledge: you acknowledge the patient. The ‘I’ is for introduction: you introduce your- self. The ‘D’ is for duration: you let the patient know how long it will take to
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