Post-Discharge Call Pilot Programs Lead to VHHA Shared Services Partnership
In an effort to support patient experience improvement efforts, VHHA Shared Services partnered with PREMEDEX to launch two pilot programs at Augusta Health and Sentara Obici. These pilot programs are currently underway and will result in a case study highlighting the findings and experience of both member hospitals. VHHA Shared Services has further entered into a strategic partnership with PREMEDEX to build on the experience of these pilot programs across Virginia. PREMEDEX offers a post-discharge call follow-up program that helps hospitals meet experience, outcomes, referral management, and recognition initiatives. This partnership aligns with additional efforts by the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association to continually improve patient experiences at its member hospitals.
“We’ve been pleased with the positive preliminary findings we’ve seen from one of the pilot programs,” says Kelly Parker, CEO of VHHA Shared Services. “These initial results strengthened our desire to enter into a partnership with PREMEDEX and further expand our collaboration with VHHA’s and our members’ quality and patient safety goals.”
Operating under the hospital’s brand as a seamless extension of the team, PREMEDEX provides one-on-one calls to patients who have been discharged in an effort to support care transitions and ensure patient understanding of discharge instructions. Their high-touch service impacts both experience and outcomes by communicating with both the patient and caregiver, sharing and reinforcing information, and offering assistance where additional support may be required.
By helping hospitals connect with their patients, they better capture the patient experience and perspective on a recent hospital stay as well as increase patient satisfaction and reduce readmissions and penalties incurred from low patient feedback scores.
Preliminary findings from the Augusta Health post-discharge call pilot program demonstrate the increase in patient satisfaction scores and can be viewed in this case study.