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FEATURE


complete that stage of their care. The ‘E’ is for explanation: this is when you describe the process. Finally, the ‘T’ is for thank you. AIDET’s use begins with the receptionist, who is vital to starting the engagement effort since he or she is a patient’s first point of contact.” From the moment patients are


greeted at Boulder Community Mus- culoskeletal Surgery Center, staff focus on providing an individualized experience, LeRoux says. “We empha- size the importance of making good eye contact, being respectful in how we address our patients and bringing a welcoming feeling to interactions. We try to always walk with patients as opposed to walking ahead of them. It is all about their experience.”


Continue Efforts The focus on patient engagement should persist throughout a patient’s visit, Shimek says. She provides the follow- ing example of how Stuart Simon, MD, USPI’s medical director and a prac- ticing anesthesiologist in the Dallas, Texas, area “humanizes” his patients. “When he brings patients into the operating room (OR), he performs an anesthesia briefing,” Shimek says. “Rather than describe the patient as an ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] repair, for example, he will say, ‘This is Mary Harris, a 34-year-old mother and school teacher. One of her favor- ite hobbies is hiking with her family, and she has not been able to do that because she tore her right ACL. Today we are going to repair her ACL.’ Then he goes over the clinical details. As a patient, this discussion makes you feel like you are important. For every- body on the surgical team, the patient is no longer ‘just a right ACL.’ This is a person now—somebody’s mother, somebody’s teacher. It makes you more conscientious of what you are doing for the patient.” Throughout a patient’s visit, staff should encourage the patient to ask


When you put yourself in the situation of patients and their family members, you humanize the experience.”


—Ann Shimek, RN, CASC, ASCA Board member, United Surgical Partners International


questions, Ryan advises. “Oftentimes, patients coming into an ASC are not feeling well and are nervous about their procedure. They do not want to ask a ‘silly’ question, but will often open up if engaged warmly. Use the phrase, ‘What questions do you have?’ and then pause. Give patients an opportu- nity to say what they want. While time is of the essence in a surgery center, taking an extra minute to have that con- versation can really make a difference in a patient’s visit.” LeRoux says it is important to take into consideration a patient’s literacy throughout the visit. “The number of illiterate people in the United States is much higher than we think. This is why it is important to provide education at a very basic level—to try to keep the lan- guage we use simple.” Ryan adds, “When you have an educated patient, they are more likely to follow the directions you send home with them. It is still important to have the physician or a nurse check up with patients after they are discharged to provide an opportunity for questions about discharge instructions. When you can take that little more time and make another connection, it makes the treatment even better.”


Involve Caretakers Patient engagement should also involve the family members or caretakers who accompany patients, Shimek says. “We frequently communicate with them about the status of the patient, and pro- vide these individuals with education as they will be taking care of the patient once that patient leaves the ASC.” Also make sure that their time at the ASC is made as comfortable as possible. “We like to do rounding of the waiting room where a member of the business office asks those people waiting if there is anything they need and performs tasks such as checking the coffee and picking up any magazines,” she says. Effectively engaging


patients and


their caretakers requires involvement and commitment from everyone in the ASC, from the scheduler to the business office, the physicians, their assistants, the nursing staff and the managers, LeRoux says. “They have to be com- mitted to providing patients with the best service they can, and working to improve that service whenever possible. There is always an opportunity to make a patient’s experience even better.”


ASC FOCUS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 21


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