Healthcare communication has been a pretty straightforward affair. Someone called, booked an appointment, showed up (ideally), received care, and a follow-up call (if they were lucky). Finito.
But that entire model is under siege. Patients expect text updates, information access, and someone who checks in between appointments. Simultaneously, the staff is forced to take on ever-increasing admin burdens without support in the additional communication efforts needed alongside patient care.
Furthermore, it’s no longer enough to justify such changes with improving healthcare convenience; a lack of communication now affects health outcomes. After a procedure, if patients don’t hear from their care team, they’re less likely to follow up. If they have medication questions but can’t get through to someone, they might abandon the medication altogether. If they feel no one cares, they will be less inclined to commit to any treatment plan.
Bridging the Gap between Discharge and Follow-Up
This is where everything falls apart. A patient leaves the hospital or clinic with a packet of papers (maybe) and crickets. No follow up; they are on their own until their next appointment weeks later.
This gap costs everyone. Avoidable readmission rates remain high because there is no verification of independent actions or clear explanations of how to take medications properly. Twenty percent of Medicare patients are readmitted within 30 days. Many of those readmissions could have been preventable if someone checked in.
But manually checking in with each patient who has been discharged is fantasy land when staff are stretched thin. Most teams don’t have the personnel to do this properly so those in greatest need never get the help they require.
What Patients Are Asking For
Patients are not being unreasonable. They would like to know what’s going on with their care. They’d like follow-up reminders because people forget things. They’d like a way to ask questions without playing phone tag for three days. They just don’t want to be cut off at the pass upon discharge, leaving them clueless about who to talk to when something goes sideways and facing a later appointment that’s set hours but not days before they leave.
Many hospitals and clinics have begun using patient engagement software that effectively handles the routine details so those in charge can focus on those who need human attention.
The numbers are compelling – automatic reminders create a 30%+ decrease in no-show appointments at some sites. Checking in post-visit prevents issues from spiraling into emergencies. Educational information helps patients understand more about what they’re doing than simply assuming.
The Administrative Burden Nobody Talks About
Unpopular opinion – but healthcare professionals are exhausted. And a considerable portion of it comes from paperwork and phone calls that are not medically based.
Think about the calls that consume so much time. Confirming appointments or having to reschedule when someone no-shows. Asking the same pre-op questions for the umpteenth time. Tracking down a patient who ghosted their follow-up appointment. Hours that could be dedicated to more vital patient care.
Annoyingly, most of these options do not require medical professionals to execute – but they rely on consistent performance as part of the process. When teams can minimize calls and streamline these systems via automated systems, they free up precious time that would otherwise be cut down by administrative minutiae.
Staff morale increases when they aren’t on the phone from afternoon to closing time. Patient satisfaction rises because they get updates when they need them – without fighting for answers – which is one of those rare win-win solutions across the board.
Making Communication Work Across Care Teams
Another issue complicating communication is that patients no longer just see one doctor. They have their primary care doctor, potentially a specialist or two, a physical therapist, maybe even a home-health nurse – and they’ve all got to coordinate care.
Historically, that’s been challenging. Paperwork gets lost along the way – messages never reach the recipient who needs to receive them – the primary care doctor changes the treatment plan; no one else knows until it goes awry – and the patient serves as the game of telephone that defeats the entire purpose of this collaborative approach.
Newer communication systems allow patient information to be in one place where everyone involved can see it. The physical therapist sees a note that a patient is struggling; the primary doctor can note that in their file. A medication is adjusted? The whole team knows.
Not only is this easier, but it’s safer, too – the information gets lost when it sits in systems without interconnecting capabilities.
The ROI That Matters
Of course, numbers matter in healthcare settings; better patient communications have plenty of them – from decreased no-show rates resulting in fuller schedules and decreased readmission rates avoiding penalties before they even arise. Increased patient satisfaction scores impact reimbursement rates, too.
However, there’s one number that’s harder to quantify – patients who get better! People who follow through with treatment plans because someone shows they’re paying attention – and problems are addressed quickly because someone checks in at the right time. Chronic conditions are better managed because patients remain engaged.
That’s what matters – the systems should not only be more effectively run for everyone involved – but patients should be given a greater fighting chance at becoming healthy.
Where Things Are Headed
This push toward improved communication isn’t going to backtrack – it will only gain traction over time. Younger patients want digital options; they want texts instead of calls; they want their healthcare information available whenever.
Those who embrace these practices now will have an advantage – not only with surveys and metrics but with their ability to provide competent care. Those facilities still playing phone tag and sending paper reminder cards will struggle more and more to keep up with demand.
The technology exists now – the problem relies on people wanting to hold onto tried-and-true methods as opposed to realizing what patient communication should look like today as opposed to ten years ago; whatever existed then isn’t working now.
