[April 07, 2015] |
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Efforts to Improve Population Health Hampered by Lack of Communication among Healthcare Professionals
Hospitals and health systems today face a range of complex challenges as
they take on new levels of risk and innovate around different models of
care. But a new survey identifies a much more fundamental problem to
improving population health - doctors and nurses struggling to get in
touch with each other to coordinate care among themselves and with their
patients.
The survey of 955 healthcare professionals, conducted online by Harris
Poll and commissioned by PerfectServe,
represents a broad cross-section of the healthcare provider ecosystem:
physicians (hospitalists, primary care physicians in large offices,
specialists in both hospital and office settings); nurses in hospitals;
case managers; and, hospital administrators and office managers.
While 98% of respondents (both clinical and administrative) feel
improved communication with patients is required for effective
population health management, and 95% believe that successful care
collaboration leads to reduced readmissions, clinicians (physicians,
nurses and case managers) feel hindered by a patchwork of antiquated or
underutilized communication technologies, wasted exchanges and concerns
about privacy and security.
"Policy makers, hospitals and health systems are rightly focused on
improving population health, but these survey results demonstrate a very
real pain point that needs to be addressed before the industry will ever
succeed in making that a reality," said Dr. Jennifer DeBruler, medical
director of Advocate Health Care's Contact Center. "Without unified
communication across providers, boosting population health, and
realizing the associated cost and care benefits, will be impossible."
Key Survey Findings
Communication breakdown: The long and winding road to effective
clinical connections
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69% of clinicians1 feel patient care is often delayed while
waiting for important information about the patient;
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More than half of clinicians (52%) admit they don't always know the
correct care team member to contact in a given situation;
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71% of responding physicians2 indicate they have wasted
time trying to communicate with the broader care team;
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Only 25% of physicians strongly agree with the assertion that they can
usually contact colleagues for collaboration or consults in an
effective manner; and,
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Nearly half of physicians (48%) report being frequently contacted
erroneously when they're not caring for the patient in question.
Dated technologies: Clinicians left wanting more
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The most common current communication technologies used in optimizing
population health management represent the tried and true: Phone (News - Alert) calls
(83%) and online patient portals (74%) lead the pack.
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Newer and more detailed remote and mobile technologies such as
telemedicine (39%) , remote coordination (36%), video conferencing
(36%), remote monitorin (32%), mobile care team communications (32%),
and remote consults (31%) lag these more traditional communications
mechanisms.
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Among clinicians, when there is a need to communicate with a physician
within the organization around complex or in-depth information or to
obtain answers to questions, the electronic health record (EHR) is
used as the mechanism only 12% of the time.
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Nearly three in 10 medical professionals (29%) are not satisfied with
the technology their organization uses for secure communications. Of
those who are dissatisfied, that dissatisfaction largely arises from
the fact that different members of the community use different
technologies (68%) and/or that not all team members have access to
secure communication technology (55%).
Security Challenges: Is HIPAA compliance a roadblock to better
communication?
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About three in five respondents (61%) believe that HIPAA regulations
pose an obstacle to communication and collaboration within the care
team.
"The diversity of clinical communications technologies in hospitals has
exploded in recent years, but in many cases these mechanisms are not
helping clinicians do their jobs better - in fact, they are creating
more barriers to collaboration in the care of their patients," said
Terry Edwards, president and CEO of PerfectServe. "This survey reflects
the sentiments of providers who share a deep commitment to making
healthcare better and improving population health, and confirms that
robust secure communications will be critical to meeting their needs."
The complete research findings are available at http://info.perfectserve.com/survey.html.
Tweet this: Our
study w/ @Nielsen shows lack of comms btwn clinicians deters efforts to
improve #pophealth http://bit.ly/1FvQgBC #PSHealthSurvey
About PerfectServe PerfectServe
provides healthcare's only comprehensive and secure communications and
collaboration platform. The company's solution unites physicians, nurses
and other care team members across the continuum and facilitates timely
interaction between them. The PerfectServe platform automatically
identifies and provides immediate access to the right care team member,
enabling effective population health management through
communication-driven workflows. More than 100,000 clinicians in
organizations such as Advocate Healthcare, Ascension Health, Covenant
Medical Group, Hoag, MemorialCare Health System, Orlando Health, St.
Joseph Health System and WellStar Health System rely on PerfectServe to
help them speed time to treatment, promote physician alignment, enhance
the consult process, increase transition efficiency, provide nurses more
time for direct patient care and reduce HIPAA compliance risk.
Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, PerfectServe has been serving the
needs of forward-looking healthcare provider organizations since 2000.
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About the Survey The PerfectServe survey was conducted
online by Harris Poll on behalf of PerfectServe between February 12 and
March 6, 2015. The research was conducted among 955 healthcare
professionals in the following occupations: hospitalist (n=150), primary
care physician in an office (n=150), specialist physician in a hospital
(n=102), specialist physician in an office (n=101), hospital
administrator (n=170), office manager/practice administrator (n=81),
nurse in a hospital (n=101), and case manager (n=100). Office-based
respondents work in an office with 25 or more physicians.3
Hospital-based respondents work in a hospital with 200 or more beds.
Physician respondents are duly licensed in the state in which they
practice. Data were not weighted and are only representative of those
who completed the survey.
1 "Clinicians" includes all physician categories surveyed,
nurses and case managers, and excludes hospital administrators and
office managers. 2 Hospitalists, primary care physicians
and in-hospital and office-based specialists 3 9 Office
Managers/Practice Administrators work in an office with fewer than 25
physicians.
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