In today’s era of innovation and technology, patients are demanding more for less when it comes to healthcare. With more resources than ever at their fingertips, patients have the power to choose hospitals with the best reputation, and are willing to travel near and far to receive the best care. In addition, payers are strategically selecting networks where members will receive high quality care while reducing costs for specialized procedures. With that being said, in order for healthcare organizations to have a fighting chance to stand out in such a crowded space, building a Center of Excellence hospital is one of the most strategic ways to grow your hospital’s reputation among payers and individuals looking for a reliable provider.
Advancing care delivery is one powerful way to stand out above competitors, while ensuring that your patients are receiving the highest level of value-based care from their providers throughout the duration of their healthcare journey. Hospitals that successfully demonstrate value-based care and recovery from a patient’s homes by leveraging innovative digital care tools are likely to be recognized by payers and employers, such as the Employers Center of Excellence Network (ECEN).
Becoming a Center of Excellence participant empowers providers to make improvements in efficacy and experience by reducing variations in care and total costs. When hospitals and health systems join CoE networks, large employers encourage members to use the designated sites for a specific procedure, otherwise, they likely will pay out of pocket.
Hospitals become designated health centers for a large population of employees working for massive enterprises like Walmart, yet are still capable of delivering the same level of specialized care. These are the major contributors to the immediate boost in reputation the organization experiences. In fact, Purchaser Business Group on Health states that since its launch, the ECEN received very positive reviews from employers and patients alike, with 98% of patients recommending the program.
Exhibit 1
Ranked #1 best hospital in San Diego and #11 for orthopedics in the US, download this Scripps case study to learn how to they leveraged scalable patient engagement technology to improve hospital reputation and keep their Center of Excellence status.
Data and Patient Experience Improvements for Direct-to Employer Care Agreements
Although we will dive deeper in this article about actionable ways to become a COE site, below is a quick summary of the main criteria hospitals must possess to be participants.
Exhibit 2
In a study from 2020, BrightLocal conducted research to see how different industries use customer reviews. It was determined that within the medical and healthcare industry, 89% of customers look at reviews, and 87% of customers believe reviews are essential to making a decision with regard to their care. They also found that healthcare industry reviews take first place for being the most important to consumers. The leading factor to this statistic is that medical procedures are expensive, therefore, there are high stakes to choose the provider that is best for each individual.
Utilizing patient engagement platforms, like the comprehensive tool Force offers, can have a positive impact on patient reviews, and a rapid ability to surface current gaps in care for quality organizational improvement. In an era where patient satisfaction and outcomes are tied to reimbursement with value-based care, understanding and increasing these areas is essential.
Exhibit 3
So, how does our patient engagement software actually encourage patients to leave online reviews? At the end of each episode, the recovered patients receive a survey to rate their overall satisfaction from the point of the procedure, all the way to the end of their episode. This survey is launched at the 90-day mark, post-op.
If patients report”very satisfied,” that triggers an email that asks them to leave a review at a site chosen by the team during implementation (Healthgrades, Vitals, Google, etc). The collection rate of online reviews are incredibly impressive, as you can see in the exhibit below for a study we conducted
Exhibit 4
In this study, we took a sample of 16 of our providers at 4 different hospital systems that had over 10 review site ratings with a score increase of >0. The most commonly used review site was Healthgrades. Other popular review sites include Vitals, Reputation, RateMDs, Google, Yelp, and WebMD. At baseline, providers had a total of 602 reviews. As of March 30, 2020, providers had a total of 1,301 reviews.
Interested in reading the full study? Download it here: Impact of a Patient Engagement Platform on Online Reputation Management
Based on the list of basic criteria to become a CoE participant, Force offers innovative digital solutions to support our client:
Many patients who live in remote, rural areas need to travel substantial distances just to have their surgery. To become a Center of Excellence site, remote digital care and monitoring is a necessity for this patient population who are unable to visit the physical office for routine pre- and post-op appointments in person. Having a proven, data-driven technology partner like Force to connect patient and providers is paramount for any CoE.
Each and every CoE has strict data and reporting requirements, including functional and quality of life PROM forms. Force seamlessly collects all core functional and QoL PROMs and submits Level III data to AAOS registries on your behalf. The time spent manually collecting and submitting this data is put back into the hands of the provider, giving care teams time to allocate to a patient’s recovery.
A tremendous amount of provider time is spent educating patients undergoing surgery at a CoE so the patient and care partner can be informed of everything they need to know to avoid complications, so readmissions and costs can remain low. Force education modules and care instructions scale provider time spent re-educating this patient population.
Successful procedures along with the tools patients are given during their care to stay educated and connected with digital platforms like Force is the formula for true patient satisfaction. Happy patients will want to share their results on review sites (and tell their friends about their experience).
Exhibit 5
Surgical Review Corporation recently released this study, showing the benefits that medical professionals are experiencing from achieving and maintaining their accreditation.
Click to learn more about how Northwell Achieved a List of Advanced Certification Sites with Technology