COVID-19 & Cyber-Attacks: Being Prepared for Downtime when there is no Down Time

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Another healthcare crisis making headlines, one that cannot be controlled with social distancing or even a vaccine, is cyber-attacks.

A recent article in The New York Times unravels how a wave of damaging attacks on hospitals upended the lives of patients with cancer and other ailments. This latest wave of cyber threats against the U.S. healthcare system is part of a growing trend. With COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations climbing nationwide, experts say healthcare providers are dangerously vulnerable to more cyber-attacks.

The pandemic has certainly generated a wave of new technologies that are completely changing the practice of modern medicine. Telehealth, virtual check-ins, and electronic forms completion from home are becoming the norm – and most patients and staff have embraced these changes with open arms. But this sudden move to virtual care, does not come without challenges. In fact, it has created, in many cases, a ‘perfect storm’ for cybercriminals.

These rapid technological advances have punched holes in tried-and-true security perimeters and have created more entry points for hackers to target. Quickly pushing more patient information to the cloud has opened doors to new vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks that have had yet to be considered.  As a result, many health systems have found themselves in a desperate and unexpected downtime situation.

According to a recent blog from CereCore, when it comes to downtime, it’s not a matter of if, but when. The blog summarizes through various industry experts that healthcare organizations must be well prepared in advance of an incident occurring. Hospitals should continue to function effectively when reverting to manual procedures during unplanned downtime or network disruption.

It is no surprise that downtime events in healthcare organizations can directly impact patient safety, revenue, staff productivity, and the patient experience. In fact, HIPAA regulations require organizations to “establish procedures to enable the continuation of critical business processes…while operating in emergency mode.” Yet, 43% of downtime procedures not being followed or not in place (JAMIA study).

Unplanned downtime can be a shock to your hospital’s system, as well as its finances. With each added minute, an idle EHR can dramatically impair the functionality of your hospital and, on average, cost an incredible $8,662 per minute.

The silver lining? There are solutions healthcare systems can put in place to be prepared to continue to operate efficiently during downtime.

Whether it be due to cyberattacks, scheduled system updates, EHR outages, or even a tornado, Interlace Health’s Downtime Solution enables staff to continue to admit patients and complete required forms while the main HIS system is down.

Interlace Health allows health systems to maintain an automated and efficient workflow to register new patients during downtime and get that information quickly into your EHR when you are back online. The solution makes it easy to maintain continuity of care with clinical documentation during downtime.

Having the right downtime solutions in place is crucial to securing and building resilience to the healthcare infrastructure long after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

For more information and to see what our downtime process looks like in action, watch our on-demand webinar presentation: Cyberattacks and COVID-19: Is Your Health System Prepared for Downtime?

 

 

 

Downtime Webinar

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Over the past five years, Lauren Ziegler has been a member of Interlace Health’s Marketing team, coordinating and executing marketing communication initiatives, such as copywriting and content management, public and media relations, social media, and corporate communications. She has over a decade of experience in working with technology companies. Lauren is passionate about helping the healthcare community understand Interlace’s Health’s value, vision, and commitment to improving experiences for providers, patients, and staff.

3 Lessons Learned from the Explosion of Telehealth

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As the COVID-19 pandemic led to stay-at-home orders across the country and a need to lessen exposure and strain on the healthcare system, healthcare organizations shut their doors to non-emergency visits. This sudden change pushed telehealth from an evolution to a revolution overnight.  

While telehealth has been steadily growing in the industry over the past few years, the pandemic has pushed it to new heights, with virtual visits increasing by 4,345% in March and April alone.

In a recent article featured on Healthcare Business Today, I shared the below three takeaways from the unprecedented growth of telehealth and how it will shape the future of healthcare.

  1. Telehealth goes beyond virtual visits. While virtual visits are one of the most well-known aspects of telehealth, remote monitoring and patient portals, as an example, enable providers to take a proactive approach to patient care in ways that traditional health services simply cannot.
  2. Virtual care saves lives. Telehealth visits limit exposure to COVID-19 for patients and healthcare workers alike, but remote monitoring technology can also go a long way in treating contagious patients without risking lives.
  3. More work needs to be done on infrastructure. When the pandemic hit, healthcare organization had to move fast. Going forward, blending digital solutions with existing processes needs to be carefully examined to create effective, and user-friendly methods for patients to access their data and communicate with their doctors.

COVID-19 has done a lot to highlight telehealth’s potential, but it has also clarified how much more work is needed. As we move into a post COVID-19 world, organizations will need to rethink all of their processes through a digital lens.

View the full article in Healthcare Business Today.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

 

Dessiree Paoli is a senior solution manager at Interlace Health, a company that transforms workflows by providing clinicians and patients with digital healthcare solutions. She has more than 18 years of experience in driving strategic marketing initiatives and developing integrated campaigns. She also has worked in healthcare for more than 12 years, including experience with a large children’s hospital, a national urgent care chain, and several HIT organizations.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Has Arrived, but Remote Patient Intake is Here to Stay

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The FDA recently gave emergency approval to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for COVID-19, and more vaccines are under review for the same approval now. This is a major accomplishment, a potential light at the end of a very long tunnel. With these effective vaccines, we can hopefully — sooner rather than later — get back to in-person work and school, and spending time (face-to-face) with family and friends. But, will patients want to get back to sitting in crowded waiting rooms before appointments? Probably not. As a healthcare consumer, I am not interested in that.

There are some aspects of everyday life that will be changed forever because of this pandemic, and the healthcare patient intake process is likely to be one of those things. 

Healthcare organizations have been seeking to incorporate technology into their practice for a while, and the need to move care online due to the pandemic has accelerated these plans. Healthcare organizations want to give their staff more time to focus on patient-centric needs, and patients expect technology infused into their healthcare. I expect this. I can order groceries online, I can bank online, I can have my dinner delivered to my doorstep within minutes with the touch of a button, and the list goes on. We live in a world that has grown accustomed to having the power of technology in the palm of our hand, and it would only make sense that I could engage with my healthcare provider online. This is where Interlace Health steps in. 

My role as a Solution Architect at Interlace Health is to talk with healthcare organizations, understand their needs, and work with them to find the best solution to meet those needs. I connect with hospitals and health systems of all sizes, who are all striving to engage patients safely, and remotely through technology. It is exciting to be a part of this innovation and hear perspectives from people in various roles across different areas of healthcare organizations. I wanted to share some insight I recently gathered from conversations with a few healthcare professionals here. 

  • This fall, I spoke with a Director of Patient Registration at a mid-sized health system. She was focused on reducing patient wait times. She said it can take anywhere from 6 to 15 minutes to register each patient in their ambulatory clinics and the patients need to complete up to 9 forms, 11 if they have Medicare. They see about 350 patients per day at their clinics, that is a lot of time and a lot of paper. Her team was very excited to see Interlace Health’s Remote Patient Intake Solution. Empowering patients to complete their registration forms remotely, before their appointment, saves patients and staff time, increases patient satisfaction and safety, and of course, eliminates printing paper and shared surfaces in the clinic. In fact, hospitals that implement a pre-registration process have seen a 60% reduction in patient wait times. 
  • Reducing wait times is just one of the advantages of remote patient intake, and the ability to text patients takes that a step further. The IT Director at a regional medical center loved Interlace Health’s ability to have no-contact registration and enable patients to bypass the waiting room all together with the option to send text messages to patients. He saw many advantages in the ability to allow patients to wait in their car and send a text when their exam room is ready. 
  • At another larger hospital I met with, the Patient Access Manager asked about collecting insurance information and co-payments in advance of the appointment. Their current-state workflow was calling the patient to collect the payment or having the patient sign a form saying they promise to pay. This often placed staff members in uncomfortable situations. They were intrigued to see that our solution lets the patient upload a photo of their insurance card and submit their co-payment at their convenience, any time before the visit. Surveys have found that 83% of patients prefer to pay their bills online.

The advantages of infusing technology and patient engagement into healthcare extend far beyond the necessity that stemmed from the pandemic. While the pandemic may have fast-tracked the digital patient intake process, it also brought to light the many benefits and the realization there is no going back. It is exciting to be a part of the work being done at Interlace Health to ease the process of transitioning to a remote patient intake process and drive real results for staff and their patients. 

 

For more information on a zero-contact registration process, download our whitepaper. 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Ellie Silver is a Solution Architect at Interlace Health. In this role, Ellie provides expertise to healthcare organizations, incorporating Interlace Health solutions, services, and integration technologies to help optimize workflows for patients, providers, and staff. Her degree in Health Science combined with her experience as a Project Manager and End User Trainer enhances her abilities as an innovator in the healthcare IT industry. Ellie is enthusiastic about healthcare and is passionate about helping healthcare organizations create continuous success.

Press Release: DrFirst and Interlace Health Join Forces to Deliver the Secure Technology Needed to Better Share Information Before and After Care to Avoid Treatment Delays and Increase Efficiency

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New partnership makes it easier for patients and healthcare providers to share, complete, sign, and store required forms electronically

OCKVILLE, Md. & ST. LOUIS — A new partnership between DrFirst and Interlace Health will make it easier for patients and healthcare providers to send, complete, sign, and manage forms so that needed medical treatment can be provided efficiently.

DrFirst is a pioneer in technology, support, and services that connect people at touchpoints of patient care. Interlace Health (formerly FormFast) is a process transformation company that solves many of healthcare’s central challenges through seamless data capture and information exchange.

The partnership enables Backline, DrFirst’s award-winning care collaboration platform, to offer its users an integrated Interlace Health module, which allows healthcare organizations to share forms via secure messaging to patients, external clinicians, or anyone who needs to provide information and sign documents. Providers can now use Backline to deliver Interlace Health’s forms to patients and other healthcare providers in advance of medical procedures to improve pre-registration and intake processes, prevent delays, and improve the patient experience. The documents can be stored in a patient’s medical record, and the process increases efficiencies and supports social distancing for patients and medical staff.

Completed and signed forms are required at many points within the health system for patients to get needed treatment. Yet missing consent forms are the most frequent cause of surgical delays at nearly 25%, according to a study by the UT Health Science Center.

“Except for life-saving emergency care, forms are often one of the first steps in healthcare,” said G. Cameron Deemer, president of DrFirst. This requirement goes beyond a patient simply providing his or her name, date of birth, and insurance information, according to Deemer. “A patient may arrive at a hospital for surgery, after having fasted since the night before, after having taken one or more days off work, and having arranged for transportation home. But that surgery won’t happen if the hospital hasn’t received ‘clearance for treatment’ forms from the patient’s primary care physician or the cardiologist.” These situations can frustrate patients, disrupt staff, and increase costs to the healthcare system, Deemer explained.

Incorporating Interlace Health with Backline allows these documents to be shared, completed, signed, and stored in electronic medical records in a way that meets HIPAA requirements to protect patients’ private health information. This also saves time by eliminating the need to print, fax, or scan documents.

“Healthcare organizations can spend a lot of energy trying to get these needed forms completed and signed in time so patients’ treatments aren’t delayed and to help control healthcare inefficiencies,” said Art Nicholas, chief revenue officer at Interlace Health. “Our partnership with DrFirst means that patients can get the care they need when they need it, clinicians can collaborate more efficiently, and healthcare organizations can improve operations and ensure compliance.”

Backline can streamline the delivery of any type of document generated by Interlace Health, such as forms for patient intake and informed consent, as well as healthcare organizations’ administrative forms for human resources, downtime, and risk management.

About Interlace Health

Interlace Health (formerly FormFast) lives at the intersection of the relationships, environments, and experiences at the heart of modern health care. By enabling seamless data capture and information exchange among providers, staff, and patients, Interlace Health solves many of health care’s central challenges through process transformation. The result for its clients is reduced costs, increased collections, uplifted patient experiences, improved operational efficiency, and enhanced support of an organization’s integration strategy.

Interlace Health’s platform enables several solutions that are accessible by clinicians and patients inside and outside the walls of the health care system. These include patient intake, revenue cycle management, electronic consent, forms-on-demand and downtime contingency. To learn more about how the company is improving health care workflow, visit www.interlacehealth.com.

About DrFirst

Since 2000, DrFirst has pioneered healthcare technology solutions and consulting services that securely connect people at touchpoints of care to improve patient outcomes. We create unconventional solutions that solve care collaboration, medication management, price transparency, and adherence challenges faced in healthcare. We unite the Healthiverse by providing our clients with real-time access to the information they need, exactly when and how they need it–so patients get the best care possible. DrFirst solutions are used by nearly 300,000 healthcare professionals, including more than 100,000 prescribers, nearly half of the EHRs in the U.S., and more than 1,400 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. To learn more, visit DrFirst.com.

Encore Webinar Presentation: COVID-19 Takes the Waiting Room Virtual

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UPCOMING WEBINAR: PATIENT INTAKE AND INFORMED CONSENT FOR TELEHEALTH

Can your current Patient Intake Process support the rise of telehealth? As hospitals and health systems navigate widespread telehealth use in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, transforming traditional in-person processes, such as patient intake, are the natural next steps along the patient care journey.

The failure to capture patient intake information and consent for telehealth can affect productivity and the revenue cycle.

On June 1, 2020, Interlace Health partnered with Becker’s Hospital Review to sponsor a webinar discussing improving the patient intake process in relation to virtual care delivery as healthcare increasingly moves toward a more telehealth-based care delivery model.

Since the webinar even was one of Becker’s highest attended webinars to date, we are planning to host an encore presentation on June 20th!

The webinar will be led by Theresa Moss, solution marketing manager at Interlace Health; and Ann Hill, solution architect at Interlace Health. Attendees will see first-hand how Interlace Health enables the electronic capture of patient information and consent for each telehealth visit, creating a seamless experience for atients, staff, and providers.

Don’t miss this last chance to view this popular webinar and ensure your organization is prepared to best navigate the patient intake process. 

REGISTER HERE 

Insights from the Field: Delivering Value with Interlace Health

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During National Health IT Week, Eric Ballard, Sr. Solutions Consultant at Interlace Health, shares his thoughts on his extensive experience in Healthcare IT, and the value Interlace Health brings to the industry. 

In my role at Interlace Health, I get the opportunity to be at the forefront of creating solutions tailored to meet the specific needs of each client.

Working closely with IT professionals, clinicians, and C-level constituents in the field to implement and customize solutions in a variety of healthcare settings, has provided me with first-hand insight into the value FormFast brings to providers, staff, and patients in the Health IT community.

From my unique vantage point, Interlace Health’s value lies in our ability to continually deliver successful, workable solutions that account for time, implementation, budget, and resource management.

EHR’s are often talked about as being fully encompassing healthcare information solutions.  Yet, there is a strong need to improve on inherent limitations designed to these large systems.  From my experience in the trenches of healthcare IT, EHR’s don’t move fast or economically.  When registration and clinical documentation needs change, it can often become expensive in both time and money to update your EHR solution.

Interlace Health solutions reduce clicks and time needed to complete processes that are otherwise overly complicated or simply take too long to complete in your EHR. Interlace Health provides access to all the tools and training to fully customize processes and workflows without the need for additional spending.  This translates into direct control over how information is shared across critical systems and the functional teams that use our solutions.

Additionally, in today’s environment where different departments and facilities aren’t using the same EHR systems, FormFast bridges people, processes, and technology.  With FormFast, patient registration and clinical processes and information can be standardized across multiple EHRs.

Our powerful and flexible platform is designed to meet multi-departmental needs and challenges, and our solution logic and configuration for full functionality of FormFast solutions live in one place.  This enables complete control and responsibility for continuous process improvement at our clients’ disposal.  Not only does this mean large savings in time and expense, but there are other advantages as well.

Interlace Health solutions impact a number of key areas across a healthcare organization, including:

Pre-Registration workflows

-Interlace Health serves as an add-on for your EHR, providing robust forms features you need to allow patients to easily complete intake forms before arriving for treatment.

-Registration staff can monitor all patient form activity and can communicate with patients as needed to help complete forms ahead of visiting your facility.

Forms/Workflow Automation

-Interlace Health solutions streamline business processes and supporting workflows.

-The same Interlace Health platform that outputs your registration and clinical forms can output checks, direct deposit slips, and, financial documents, etc.

eSignature

-Interlace Health integrates with your existing EHR system to capture signatures on eForms and archive them electronically in the correct patient folder.

-Annotate, sign, check, free text your forms as needed using our clean and easy to use user interfaces which reduce training needs.  Additionally, reduce errors by assigning fields to be required as needed.

Form Design

-Forms can be updated as needed and cost per form is heavily reduced.  You no longer need to stockpile forms which inevitably go out of date and may not be disposed of at all.  This will lead to benefits in terms of clinical or financial outcomes.

-Interlace Health form design solutions allow you to integrate not just registration and clinical forms, but ANY forms (HR, financial, etc.).

Reporting

-Interlace Health solutions allow for customized reporting using registration and clinical data, including staff usage.  With the right data you can easily adjust our solutions for future needs.

-Better reporting leads to continuous process improvement allowing you to achieve measurable results.

 

The Interlace Health Difference

The highest value Interlace Health brings is rooted in their team of professionals who solve problems, deliver successful solutions, and impart knowledge every day to our customers.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as successfully completing a healthcare IT project. Knowing that your solutions are now improving the day-to-day processes of clinical staff is extremely rewarding. Seeing a healthcare system adopt our technology and grow with FormFast across their organization to impact the end-result for patients is why I come to work every day.

Over my past eight years here, I have witnessed first-hand Interlace Health’s ability to create innovative solutions and form meaningful relationships with their clients – making us not only the right partner for today but also for tomorrow.

Top 5 Reasons to Attend the 2019 Interlace Health User Group Summit

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We look forward to hosting our FormFast (now Interlace Health) User Group Summit LIVE in St. Louis, Missouri on September 30 – October 2, 2019!

This event is dedicated to bringing our customers to the forefront of technology problem-solving and product development to help your team gain a stronger sense of what’s available, what’s coming, and how you can put these tools and techniques into practice.

It’s an in-person opportunity for you to discover what’s new, share visionary ideas, discuss challenges, and learn from the experiences of your peers.

We are excited to provide this one-of-a-kind platform to build your professional network as you engage with industry leaders, Interlace Health users from across the country, and the Interlace Health Team!

We hope you can meet us in St. Louis this fall for this customer-centric event hosted at the beautiful Ameristar Resort Casino Spa.

While we can think of more … Check out these 5 reasons we believe you shouldn’t miss out on this exclusive event!

1.) MAKE AN IMPACT AT YOUR ORGANIZATION.

With hands-on-training, including tips & tricks and peer-to-peer problem-solving sessions, you will give your site 2 hours of saved time per week — that is over 100 hours during a year!

Gain new skills to help you effectively problem solve and return to the office ready to positively affect change. Share the knowledge you’ve gained to get the most of Interlace Health as well as your EHR!

2.) RECEIVE A INTERLACE HEALTH SERVICES CREDIT.

For each Summit attendee, your organization will receive a $2,500 services credit! This can be used for form design, software upgrades, system optimization, or towards new Interlace Health Solution add-ons.

With this perk, the conference more than pays for itself!

*1 credit per attendee – limit of 2 credits per organization. Credit must be used by 10/02/2020.

 

3.) LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS. BE THE EXPERT.

Hear from people who know the products you are using. Whether they are on Interlace Health side, or are an end user like yourself, you will always learn something new.

We want to hear from you! As a healthcare IT professional and Interlace Health customer – we want to hear about your current projects, challenges, and successes!

We also have an exciting line-up of speakers from local health systems at the forefront of technology advances in healthcare, including BJC HealthCare – Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

 

4.) FIND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INDUSTRY EDUCATION, AND NETWORKING – ALL IN ONE PLACE.

Discussing your current projects and bouncing ideas off others from different organizations can give you a fresh perspective, and even provide new strategies and encouragement to keep going when you hit a roadblock!

You will also gain in-depth knowledge to other extensions of Interlace Health’s platforms that have potential to generate a significant amount of savings in areas centered around Pre-Registration, Clinical Solutions, Clinical Consent, and Referral Management.

 

5.) STEP OUTSIDE THE OFFICE & HAVE A GREAT TIME! 

We know that ALL work and no play makes for a very dull trip! We have arranged some special evening events to make your trip unforgettable – including LIVE entertainment with Meg+Tyler, plus a meet and greet opportunity after the show!

Meg+Tyler is made up of two singers … Tyler Crain + Meghan Linsey, sound familiar? It should! Meghan Linsey is a #1 Billboard Recording Artist and famously known as a runner up on NBC’s The Voice. Tyler has over 2 million plays on Spotify as well as songwriting credit for a Grammy nominated “Country Album of the Year”. Be sure to add them to your play list for the plane or car ride!

Also, we can’t forget to mention the breathtaking location. Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles is ranked in the top four among luxury hotels in Missouri in 2017 by U.S. News & World Report, this all-suite AAA Four Diamond hotel features contemporary style with sheer comfort. Ameristar offers an exceptional gaming and entertainment experience in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

 

Interlace Health’s goal is to create seamless and convenient experiences, and this extends to our User Group Summit. Our team has every detail covered so you can focus on making the most of your time at the conference. Lodging, wi-fi, Summit-sponsored activity transportation, meals, & cocktails — and anything else you need once you’re there!

 

Reflecting on the Patient Experience Summit 2019

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Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the Patient Experience Summit 2019.  A collaboration between HIMSS and Cleveland Clinic, it allows patients, practitioners, and members of the Health IT community to come together to share best practices, ideas, and inspiration about how we can improve the patient experience.

In several sessions, there was a focus on delivering a great patient experience at registration.  As a former Administrative Operations Manager for several outpatient radiology facilities, this is a topic near and dear to my heart.

Our front desk associates are often the first face our patients see when they walk into our facilities.  We all know that interaction with a facility’s front-line staff can set the tone for a patient’s entire visit.  Did you know it can even affect a patient’s perception of their clinicians and the quality of their care?

Here are a few takeaways from sessions that highlighted the importance of delivering a quality patient experience at registration. 

 

CREATING A “SUPER WOW!! EXPERIENCE” IN REGISTRATION

In their session, “Hidden Opportunities to Design a Better Experience,” Chaise Camp, Executive Director of Patient Experience and Jeremy Carr, Lead Patient Experience Advisor, both at Nebraska Medicine, outlined their approach to create a “Super Wow!! Experience” at registration.

They understood that the first step in enhancing the patient experience was enhancing the staff experience.  The registration staff was focused on data entry instead of the patient. The result = an unengaged patient.

Patients who had this impersonal experience reported feeling as though they were “just a number.”  This experience went on to color their impression of their visit with their doctor.

Nebraska Medicine used many tactics to fight this situation. They started with an “Enjoy Your Day” training for medical receptionists.  They also challenged the nurses and medical assistants to walk up to patients when calling them back from the waiting room with personal greetings.

This turned the patient experience from “I’m just the next person in line” to “my care team knows me and is expecting me!”  Nebraska Medicine saw a significant improvement in survey results around the “Friendliness and Courtesy” of the nurses and assistants by using this personal patient greeting approach.  They also saw improvements in their Likelihood to Recommend survey results.

 

LONG WAIT TIMES IN CLINIC, MAKE IT LOOK POORLY RUN

In another session, “Designing the Medical Practice Experience to Earn Loyalty and Engage Digital Customers,” Chrissy Daniels from Press Ganey spoke about how culture, process, teamwork, and design thinking combine to influence the patient experience in our clinic.  She talked about the trickle-down effect of a cumbersome and backed-up registration process.

When the registration process is slow and complex, or the patient has to wait past their appointment time to be seen, they frequently complain that when they did see their doctor, the doctor seemed rushed or inadequate.

Ms. Daniels felt that the physicians were not rushed and that they weren’t even aware of scheduled visit start times.

She shared some statistics collected by Press Ganey on the correlation between wait time and a patient’s likelihood to recommend a physician:

99% of patients who reported a wait time of “zero” said they would recommend their physician to others, compared to only 16% of patients who reported a wait time of greater than 15 minutes saying they were likely to recommend.

It’s not the wait time alone that impacts this metric – it’s that a long wait time creates an impression with the patient that the practice simply doesn’t run well.

She strongly recommended pre-registration as a method to cut registration times and keep the practice running on schedule.

 

REMOVE BARRIERS BY THROWING AWAY THE CLIPBOARD

Finally, Sabina Mujanovic, Patient Advocate with Texas Health Resources, presented on the impact of pre-registration in “Patients Fall in Love with Online Registration.”

Sabina spoke about how negatively a cumbersome registration process impacts the behavioral health practice at her hospital. She described how throwing up any barriers between that patient and their appointment comes with a serious risk that the patient will rethink attending.

They led a focus group on Outpatient Registration, where patients commented on extended wait times, and the long and repetitive forms they were asked to fill out again and again.

The hospital decided to make a change. They reduced their intake forms from 11 to 4 pages.  They moved to an online pre-registration tool that allowed their patients to complete forms from home.  Patient information in the EHR pre-populated on the forms, so they weren’t repeatedly providing the same information at each visit.

She shared some amazing results:  Door to therapist time was reduced by over 25 minutes.  Before the online registration initiative, the behavioral health practice had a no-show rate of 30%.  They found that when patients pre-registered online, those patients had a no-show of just 3%!

The patients who had pre-registered at home were already engaged in the appointment and didn’t dread a long registration process.

All this made the entire practice run more smoothly, and they saw an 11% jump in patient satisfaction.

 

Key Takeaway: 

PATIENT ENGAGEMENT = PATIENT LOYALTY

We all know that our patients are now consumers and that they have a choice when choosing care. They can and will post reviews of your practice on websites such as Vitals.com, Zocdoc, and Yelp, steering potential patients toward or away from you.

There is evidence that a well-run registration desk and efficient check-in process speak volumes about the quality of your practice, and the care and concern you have for your patients and their time.

Want to learn more about the benefits of driving an enhanced Patient Experience through Pre-Registration? Join our upcoming webinar!

AUTHOR:

As a member of the solution marketing team at Interlace Health, Theresa Moss works with customers to identify ways to transform their processes in areas such as revenue cycle management, registration, scheduling, and health information management.  She believes that maximizing operational efficiency is fundamental to supporting a health system’s continued growth.  Theresa has fifteen years of experience in outpatient radiology and a background in operations management.

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