Best devices to help hospitals boost their HCAHPS scores

Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys provide a data collection methodology for measuring patients' perspectives on hospital care. HCAHPS scores are a direct correlation to how much Medicare and Medicaid will reimburse hospitals. Even though this is a troublesome thought to hospitals that rely heavily on these reimbursements as a vital source of revenue, there are effective ways for a hospital to improve its patient satisfaction through technology.

Nurse Call Systems

When it comes to boosting HCAHPS scores, patient safety is top priority and nurse call systems are the most strategic way for a hospital to significantly boost its ratings. Past nurse call methods were intercom-like systems that were hardwired to perform only a set number of tasks. For decades they were considered a tactical decision driven by what was needed to meet fire code and obtain certification from the state to run a hospital - essentially, anything but a strategic investment. It was deemed a tactically required utility being lead the majority of the time by purchase decision-makers rarely collaborating with the clinical side. Over the past five years, nurse call has shifted from a tactical utility decision to one of the most strategic clinical IT investments a provider can make. With advancing technology, there are now new, flexible nurse call systems, such as Rauland’s Responder 5, that are not limited by proprietary technology designs allowing the provider the ability to decide over time how to best automate clinical processes.

 

Real Time Location Systems

In just four short years, the industry has shifted from clipboards to embracing and depending on technology. With these new advancements in technology, it is easier for hospitals to protect valuable nursing time that would otherwise be lost to less valuable tasks than patient care. Real time location systems (RTLS) can not only boost HCAHPS scores but also reduce cost and time spent on finding assets and nurses. RTLS can easily be integrated with nurse call systems and is a sensory network that enables nurse call systems to make communications support decisions based upon the location of people and assets. In the patient care setting, RTLS has become essential to best practice adherence and compliance reporting. To improve HCAHPS scores, nurses should be focused on patient care and not burdened with manual compliance reporting. With nursing management reports, hospitals are now able to quickly determine whether goals are being met and if not, where they are falling short.

The more hospitals do for the nursing staff and clinical care team the better. Nurses play a critical role in improving hospitals’ HCAHPS scores and what better way to ensure nurses are doing their best, than by improving their quality of life? With nurse call systems and RTLS implemented, hospitals can measure the data collected by these systems and compare it to best practice goals. Hospitals can then pinpoint where and why they need to move resources to normalize workloads, how to achieve consistent quality of care and overall patient satisfaction.

 

If you are interested in finding out more about how the we can assist you in helping boost your HCAHPS scores, contact us at info@swc.net and we will help identify areas where you can enhance your technology solutions. 

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