News Feature | August 17, 2015

Multimedia Patient Engagement Programs Improve HCAHPS Scores

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Rising Hospital Safety Scores In Health IT

With increasing pressure to improve HCAHPS from CMS, hospitals need new strategies.

Hospitals that employed multimedia patient engagement programs saw higher HCAHPS scores according to an Emmi Solutions study. The study analyzed nearly 100,000 HCAHPS surveys from multiple service lines in 29 hospitals across the country and found patients who viewed one of the company’s web-based, interactive programs reported higher patient satisfaction scores when compared with patients who had not.

These findings are particularly significant now that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is tying reimbursements to HCAHPS scores, meaning betters scores has become a business imperative. These scores help determine whether hospitals can either lose or gain up to 1.5 percent of their Medicare payments in fiscal year 2015, rising to 2 percent over the next few years. With a growing amount of revenue at stake, hospital leaders are looking for strategies to improve the patient experience and boost their HCAHPS scores.

For the study, Emmi Solutions’ multimedia programs were prescribed to patients to help simplify complex health information and guide them through vital information concerning an upcoming procedure and post-discharge recovery or self-management of their chronic condition. The company’s technology platform enables tracking and documentation of individuals’ interactions with the programs so HCAHPS scores could be compared between the two cohorts.

The study found that when those multimedia programs were engaged:

  • 100 percent of hospitals improved their aggregate HCAHPS Top Box percentage
  • 86 percent of hospitals improved in the “Doctor Communication” dimension
  • 69 percent of hospitals improved by 4% or more in the “Overall Rating” dimension
  • 59 percent of hospitals improved in the “Nurse Communication” dimension

“We have been helping our clients to improve their patients’ experience and satisfaction with their care for more than 13 years; this comprehensive study reflects the anecdotal feedback we hear every day,” Geri Lynn Baumblatt, Emmi’s Executive Director of Patient Engagement, explained. “By giving people essential health information in a way they can easily understand it and by helping to facilitate open communication, patients are ultimately more prepared for their hospital stay. The data shows this approach can definitely lead to providers reporting higher HCAHPS scores and better clinical outcomes.”