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2 Ways A Discharge Folder Can Lead To Higher HCAHPS Scores

Posted by Chris Higgins on Wed, Apr 16, 2014 @ 07:00 AM

Since its introduction in 2006, the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and hospital discharge foldersSystems (HCAHPS, or "H-Caps") has quickly grown in importance to hospitals and clinics across the nation.

This standardized survey, sent randomly to hospitalized patients after discharge, has become one of the primary methods of assessing the quality of care being provided.

Your HCAHPS scores are directly tied to your Medicare reimbursements. A hospital's annual payment update can be reduced by up to 2% for failing to meet HCAHPS goals. This alone makes them important.

However, there's another reason HCAHPS ratings have become so critical: attracting patients and staff. As the Internet has made it easier for patients to "shop" for doctors, HCAHPS scores have become one of the main indicators patients use when looking for hospitals. The same is true for nurses, physicians, and other staff.

While some feel it's unfair for a hospital to be judged so strongly on the subjective reports of its patients, that's the reality at the moment.

However, there's an extremely simple way for virtually any hospital or clinic to boost its HCAHPS responses: Personalized discharge folders, packaged in durable accordion folders, that include everything a patient needs to know.

Discharge Folders Encourage Recovery And High HCAHPS Scores

1. Improve Your Patient Communication

If there is a single solution to higher HCAHPS scores, it simply boils down to communication. Satisfied patients use phrases like "My doctor explained" and praise the communications they had with staff. Likewise, dissatisfied patients overwhelmingly complain of a lack of clear instruction.

After all, an average patient isn't going to have the medical background to appreciate a particularly artful suture, or to praise a doctor's keen insight in his choice of antibiotic program. Nearly all of their opinions will be formed based on their interactions with the hospital or clinic staff.

A well-organized discharge folder creates the perfect opportunity for strong patient interactions. The nurse or doctor has an at-a-glance overview of everything the patient needs, and can go over it with them prior to discharge. The combination of discussion, with visual aids, is effective in getting patients to remember critical information.

A patient who walks out of a hospital feeling secure, that their questions have been answered, and they have the information they need to continue their recovery at home, will virtually always give better HCAHPS feedback.

2. Create Educated Patients

Readmissions can cost a hospital tens of thousands of dollars, as well as being a significant red flag when it comes to Medicare funding. While not always preventable, most readmissions can be avoided with better-educated patients.

A well-planned discharge folder puts everything the patient needs to know in one place, wrapped in an attractive and eye-catching package. Whether it's dietary instructions, a detailed schedule of medications, or directions for physical rehab, the patient will know exactly where to look.

Beyond pieces of information that would be specific to the patient, there is a range of generalizeddischarge folders information that could be included as well:

  • Emergency contact phone numbers or emails

  • Maps to your hospital or others in your referral network

  • "Top Ten" lists, like warning signs of cardiac disease

  • Frequently Asked Questions from dischargees

  • Drug interactions to avoid

  • First aid advice

Accordion discharge folders ensure every patient leaves your care with everything they need for a successful recovery.

Communication And Education Make Higher HCAHPS Scores

When looking to boost your HCAHPS statistics, the best strategy is a one-two punch of communication and education. Hospitals and clinics seeing the best scores are those implementing patient-focused policies aimed at improving their subjective experience.

Making the discharge folder the centerpiece of your discharge procedures hits both these targets at once. You have a great educational tool while the patient is still in your care, and then they go home with all the information they need to make a speedy recovery.

dataguide 3 ways discharge folders help reduce hospital readmissions

Topics: Document folders, document holders, discharge folders