Have any of your patients complained about wait time? Have any of your staff members become frustrated by inefficiencies in the appointment process? Have you ever felt burned out and unable to keep up with patient flow? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re not alone. Even the most successful private practices are challenged by creating, optimizing and maintaining processes for managing patient flow.
Evidence-based care helps you make the best treatment decisions and it can revolutionize your practice. Although the care model involves consulting the latest research studies for information about treatment benefits and protocols, it’s about more than simply relying on research studies to make decisions. Your personal experience and input from your patients are also important considerations.
For years, your hospital has been dedicated to offering the best possible care to each and every patient. Your staff members are unwavering in their commitment to integrate the most innovative medical advances, and apply their ample knowledge and experience to develop sustainable care plans. While your hospital is devoted to helping each patient thrive, you may still be missing one piece of the patient satisfaction puzzle: patient engagement.
Only 66 to 76 percent of hospital patients feel that their pain is well-controlled, according to the latest Summary of HCAPHS Survey Results. Poor pain management can contribute to a variety of problems, including longer hospital stays, delayed wound healing, chronic pain syndrome, depression and substance abuse.
Bottlenecks caused by patient flow not only reduce efficiency and revenue, but also affect patient satisfaction levels. Improving flow starts with evaluating current systems and procedures to determine whether they are effective or are just hampering your efforts to provide quality healthcare.
