How To Improve Your Post Discharge Follow Up Phone Calls
Around 20% of patients experience a bad post-discharge event. This could range from infections to complications and more within 30 days.
This represents a significant cost for healthcare providers and healthcare call centers. But what’s more important is that this is preventable by taking the right steps. Hospitals have a responsibility to reduce this post-discharge phenomenon.
One way to do that is with post discharge phone calls. These have become a very important and popular way for healthcare providers to ensure patient success and satisfaction.
In fact, some payer reimbursements from insurers require that patients answer surveys after they receive treatment.
So it’s not just important for the growth of your organization, but many times for your financials or legal matters. So in this article, let’s talk about ways that you can improve your patient retention phone calls to provide a better experience and patient outcome.
Benefits Of Post Discharge Phone Calls For Patient Satisfaction
There are several advantages to making post-discharge calling:
Increase Appointments And Revenues
With telephone follow up after discharge from the hospital, you have a chance to increase the number of appointments that you can make for your services.
Patient Health And Outcomes
If someone is having a complication, they may not feel confident reaching out out of embarrassment or simply procrastination due to fear. Therefore, it’s your responsibility to reach out to them with a phone call so that you can diagnose any issues.
Referrals
If you reach out to a patient, they’re more likely to feel like you really care about their experience. Therefore, you’re likely to get referrals.
All in all, a patient’s journey does not end when they leave your facility. It’s merely the beginning. And if you do optimize your post-discharge calling, you can enhance retention and avoid losing opportunities.
How To Retain Patients With Post-Discharge Calling
Without further ado, let’s get into how to increase your attention by calling patients after they’ve been under your care.
When done correctly, it can be a lot more effective than simple EMR data or disease-specific checklists.
These are only one piece of the equation. So follow these tips and ensure your post-discharge calling is the best in your niche:
1. Create A 360 Degree Profile
Personalizing your outreach to your patients is essential. No one wants to feel like they’re treated like a commodity, especially when it comes to their healthcare.
They want to feel like everything is prioritized for their specific needs, pains, and health outcomes. By asking personalized questions, medical call center professionals can get to the main reason that someone is either feeling good or bad about their service with you.
It can also help reduce missed appointments, screenings, or preventative care. This is obviously crucial in ensuring the best health for everyone who visits your center.
Additionally, creating a profile can help you reach your patients better. This comes from understanding when to call, how to communicate, and what type of communication method patients prefer in your area.
2. CRM / Integrated Data
A post-discharge caller may traditionally have to use fragmented data and various technology platforms during their call. This makes the conversations with patients less detailed and more difficult.
Also, patients may transfer various times. This reduces their experience. Consumers today want a more holistic approach. The one-call concept is best when using a CRM or other kind of patient management software.
This allows agents to target and reach patients for follow-ups much easier. It makes the process more streamlined and reduces the time it takes to get crucial feedback.
3. Quality Scripts To Inform Future Strategy
The right scripts from a medical call center can make all the difference in your post-discharge call. There’s various scripts that health systems use depending on the patient profile.
A sophisticated service can use their CRM integration, previous customer data, and demographic info to make the best decision in the moment.
From here, they can give you the feedback on what’s working in terms of scripts, outreach, and strategy. This allows you to grow your practice, increase satisfaction surveys, and ensure that prescriptions, insurance, and everything else on your agenda.
Final Thoughts On Discharge Phone Calls
Post-discharge calling is considered the most effective way to stay in touch and retain those who have visited your medical center. By using a medical call center like Sequence Health, you can enjoy the services of a support team that understands your business.
We know how to get to the heart of what patients are feeling and thinking to help verify insurance, increase appointments, and ultimately make your job easier. So reach out today and understand just how valuable medical call center services can be for you.