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Patient Experience Learning Series

Powered by 40 million patient voices each year. Press Ganey Patient Experience Learning Series, sponsored by Wellcare, will arm you with insights to help you deliver an exceptional patient experience at every step of the patient journey. 

  

 

  

Exceptional Patient Experience Made Simple
 

MAKING CHANGES MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Improvement is possible with focused effort. Even top performers and those originally performing well can make noticeable increases in their scores. Usually, those with the lowest original scores show the greatest improvement.

Access Brochure (PDF)


CAHPS® (Consumer and Access Availability Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems)

Provider Impact

There are three specific CAHPS questions related to patients getting timely access to care.

Access and Availability Impact

Impact on CAHPS Getting Appointments and Care Quickly is one of the 5 provider driven CAHPs composites. Three questions directly assess access and availability.

CAHPS Questions

APPOINTMENTS

How often did you get an appointment for a check-up or routine care as soon as you needed?

NEEDED CARE

When you needed care right away, how often did you get care as soon as you needed?

TIME IN WAITING ROOM

How often did you see the person you came to see within 15 minutes of your appointment time?*

 

Timely Appointments Care and Information

Essential Behaviors

  • Empathy - Acknowledge concerns, demonstrate caring
  • Compassion - I hear you and this is what I can do
  • Listen - Invite questions and actively listen
  • Manage Anxiety - Recognize anxiety and mitigate
  • Offer Options - Empowerment through choice and autonomy

Processes and Operations

  • Expectations - Set patient expectations by creating responses and assist front office staff to discuss delays, walk-ins and scheduling patients
  • Open Schedule - Dedicated space for scheduled appointments and walk-ins
  • Extended Hours - Before 8:00 am and after 5:00 pm some days during the week and weekends
  • Provide Options - Other physicians, offices, advanced practitioner, etc.
  • Tele-triage Nurses - Manage urgent calls and situations

Talking Points for Providers

Communicate with Courtesy, Respect, and Listening

Discuss and observe best practices– then focus on those behaviors patients/members share about their interactions with their providers

The Art of Caring
 

SCIENCE

How often did you see the person you came to see within 15 minutes of your appointment time?*

ART (HEART)

Impact on CAHPS Getting Appointments and Care Quickly is one of the 5 provider driven CAHPS composites. Three questions directly assess access and availability.

Essential Behaviors


56 SECOND CONNECT

Behavior to go beyond the diagnosis and learn about the person


SIT DOWN

When you sit down eye-to-eye with patients, they feel like the provider has spent more time with them


ACTIVE LISTENING

Let patients tell their whole story without interruption

Access and Telehealth Appointments

Reduce Risk - Same day appointments for members’ urgent needs decreases the risk of Urgent Care and ED visits, and symptom increase due to lack of treatment

Same Day Appointments

Improve patient satisfaction and reduce Urgent Care and ED visits.

 

Risk of Cancellation

Appointments with lead times greater than 2 weeks are more likely to turn into no shows and canceled appointments

 

No Show Appointments Opportunities

Improve Access and Utilization

No Available Appointments - Patient calls to schedule an appointment, if nothing is available within the next day or two:

Options

  1. Wait list - Would you like to be placed on a wait list and called if an appointment becomes available?
  2. Would you prefer a tele-visit to an in-person visit?
  3. Cancel equals Wait list - Patient calls to cancel = utilize wait list to fill spot based on visit type preference

Expand Telehealth For Routine Care

 



IT’S MORE EFFICIENT

With telehealth, the following tasks are removed from the visit process. This makes for efficient use of time and can be a smoother experience for the member
 

TAKE THESE TASKS OFF YOUR LIST

  • Read Vital Signs
  • Patient Check-In
  • Recording Weight

Increase Appointments, Efficiency, and Revenue

Revenue Changes

Three 10 minute telehealth visits vs two 15 minute in office visits

Medication and Telehealth

  • New medication checks
  • Med refills
  • Discuss test results

Commitment to Best Practices

CHECKLIST

This checklist will be used to identify the interventions your practice commits to implementing within the next 30 days. Note that the goal of each intervention is listed below the intervention itself.

Follow up on status of implementation, including successes, challenges and next steps needed will be conducted during next month’s coaching session.

 

Goal: Leverage assessment tools (i.e. provider scorecards) to identify process and/or educational opportunities to boost patience experience.

Goal: Turn missed appointments into a scheduling opportunity for members unable to schedule within their desired time frame

Goal: Increase efficiency for providers and reduce hassle for members

Goal: Improve access to care for members with limited availability

Goal: Maximize opportunity to identify member access needs and ensure member knowledge of after-hours resources

Increase Appointments, Efficiency, and Revenue

Revenue Changes

Three 10 minute telehealth visits vs two 15 minute in office visits

Medication and Telehealth

  • New medication checks
  • Med refills
  • Discuss test results

Assessment or Tools Selected

CHECKLIST

This checklist will be used to identify the tools your practice commits to use for training and/or assessment purposes. Note that the goal of each tool is listed below the tool name itself.

Commitment to use the tool indicates a commitment to work towards the specific goal the tool is targeted towards within the next 60-90 days.



Goal: Increase knowledge around intervention to boost member experience. Opportunity to learn from other provider groups in attendance.

Goal: Utilize public social media reviews to identify improvement opportunities and recognize practice accomplishments

Goal: Provider education that can be delivered online or by the Health Plan, intended to increase provider knowledge around the annual CAHPS survey and provider impact on member perception of experience.

Goal: Education of provider support staff to increase knowledge around annual CAHPS survey and ways support staff can impact member perception of experience

Performance Improvement and CAHPS Survey

Here are ways you can improve your patients’ experience and help with the upcoming Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey that your Medicare patients may receive from March to May. Ensuring your patients’ satisfaction will also help improve your performance in the Healthfirst Quality Incentive Program (HQIP). For your reference, the Medicare CAHPS survey questions are available on the next page.

ACTIONS TO TAKE


Before Appointments

  • Offer convenient appointment times by keeping blocks of time open for same-day, weekend, and early morning/evening slots.
  • Consider offering telemedicine service (by phone or video chat) as an alternative to in-person appointments.
  • Confirm appointments with patients one day prior to visit by text message, a live call, or an automated call messaging system.
  • Provide options for registering in advance either by a patient portal or set up an online scheduling system so patients can provide their information before coming in.
  • Have patients’ records ready and reviewed, and obtain any prior authorizations ahead of visit to expedite care.
  • Notify patients early if long wait times are expected or if there are any last-minute requests for lab work.

During Appointments

  • Do your best to see patients within 15 minutes of their appointment time.
  • Review patients’ prescriptions, make sure they understand the importance of their medications, and alert them any possible adverse drug interactions.
  • Communicate when patients’ test results will be available and set reminders to review results with patients in a timely manner.
  • Ask patients if they have any questions or concerns regarding their care.

End of Appointments

  • Immediately schedule patients’ follow-up appointments to ensure continuous care.
  • Account for specialist care by making sure specialist appointments were made or help patients schedule appointments if needed.
  • Encourage patients to use the patient portal, which lets them access their health records and ask providers questions.
  • Share health records with patients’ other providers to keep everyone up-to-date.

MEDICARE CAHPS SURVEY QUESTIONS


Getting Needed Care

  • In the last six months, how often did you get an appointment to see a specialist as soon as you needed?
  • In the last six months, how often was it easy to get the care, tests, or treatment you needed?

Getting Appointments and Care Quickly

  • In the last six months, when you needed care right away, how often did you get care as soon as you needed?
  • In the last six months, how often did you get an appointment for a check-up or routine care as soon as you needed?
  • In the last six months, how often did you see the person you came to see within 15 minutes of your appointment time?




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