Did You Know...?

Not One State Received an "A" in Patient Satisfaction Scores

Based on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (HCAHPS), there was not one state that scored an "A," "A-"or even "B+". The highest score received was a "B" which the states of South Dakota (84.1) and Wisconsin (83.5) received. The largest number of states score in the "B-" range, with the rest scoring "C+" or "C" and the lowest score of "C-" going to the District of Columbia. Based on the HCAHPS survey, the average score which patients gave American hospital was a "B-." Patients rated hospital against eight criteria including: communications with doctors, communications with nurses, responsiveness of hospital staff, pain management, communications about medicines, discharge information, cleanliness of the hospital environment, and how quiet the hospital environment was.

The take-away from this survey is that patients in America are just "satisfied" with the care they receive and that improvement is warranted. Here's another opportunity for case managers to engage providers on the importance of adopting new patient advocacy initiatives that demonstrate to patient that hospitals do care, do want to make their healthcare experience better and are willing to listen and better respond to their needs. 

By Jeanne H. Boling, RN, MSN, CCM

In many large private and public sector organizations, case management is a decentralized function which multi-city and state operations. Within these entities, there are disparate systems even when the entire organization is expected to adhere to standard operating procedures. In these instances, and despite the best efforts of case management department heads, it is difficult to maintain consistently high quality practices. One way to help address this problem is to apply a robust case management software program.

There are many case management software solutions to choose from, however, any selection should be governed by the presence of certain features. In particular, look for a case management solution which is:

-Web-based enabling case managers to access its tools and information from any location on a 365/24/7 basis;

-Transparent affording department heads the ability to better control case management assignments, manage compliance reporting, view medical histories and track cases easily;

-Integrated so that case managers in remote locations can be most productive due to their ability to access evidence-based guidelines, disease codes and treatment codes online, and use the system's tools to create and process more accurate documents;

-A centralized database of case-related information (e.g., medical records, reports, notes, claims data, etc.) which supervisors can retrieve to review cases, determine work schedules and assignments; and

-Comprehensive compliance tools for meeting audit standards and HIPAA requirements.

-High-risk patient utilities that: help identify patients; facilitate health assessments including disease-specific assessments and related care plan options; provide automated alerts to case management team members when certain critical events occur and/or actions must be taken; present a full view of the patient's medical history and requirements; generates timely, meaningful reports; and tracks the actions of each member of the patient's medical care team.

When considering a case management solution, case management departments should be guided by a reputable provider of healthcare management solutions. Professional associations such as the Case Management Society of America can provide lists of qualified vendors. In addition, asking other organizations that are comparable to your organization by category and size what software solutions they use and what their experience has been can also help steer your organization in the right direction.