1. POST-DISCHARGE
SERVICES
NCH Healthcare System, Naples, FL,
increased its HCAHPS ratings by up
to 16 percent and markedly reduced
readmissions with patient follow-up
calls over 15 months.
Leverage Post-Discharge Services
To Improve Communication and
Patient Satisfaction
Hospitals that engage in patient follow up phone calls add another level of personal touch
and an opportunity to address or escalate any patient feedback needing attention which
could be a trigger for readmissions, while leaving patients more satisfied and more likely to
recommend your hospital for treatment.
POST-DISCHARGE CALLING HAS DIRECTLY CORRELATED
TO HIGHER PATIENT SATISFACTION SCORES AND CAN
REINFORCE POSITIVE PATIENT EXPERIENCES
• Gauge discharge instruction compliance and offer clinical escalations for patients
needing immediate service recovery or attention
• Track patient physician follow-up appointment compliance and compare with care
plan recommendations
• Access call data and reporting for baseline statistics with verbatim and trended
responses for departmental analysis and areas for improvement
Healthcare Solutions
Communication Solutions
FACT SHEET
1
New England Journal of Medicine
2
Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
3
American College of Physicians Annals of Internal Medicine
4
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
5
Journal of Emergency Nursing
6
Studer Group, “Preventable Readmissions: Why the Answer to This Critical Issue Is (Literally) at Our Fingertips”
7
Journal of Nursing Care Quality
Top 3Readmission Diagnoses: 2
Heart attack 19.9%
Heart failure 24.7%
Pneumonia 18.3%
HCAHPS scores
began to affect
reimbursement in 2013. 4
1 in 5Medicare patients
are readmitted within 30 days.1
Out of 400 discharged patients,
19% reported adverse events. 3
Calling Makes a Difference
• By conducting interactive care, such as post-discharge
calls, organizations achieved a 74% reduction
in heart failure readmission rates. 5
• Patients who receive a post-discharge call rank their
care in the 90th percentile. 6
• Those who don’t receive calls rank their care in the
30th percentile. 6
• In addition, hospitals saw a 43% increase in
patient satisfaction. 5
• 62% of medication discrepancies were
discovered if RNs conducted either a post-discharge
follow-up call or home visit. 7

2. STC_COMSOLPDSFS_0714Copyright © 2014 Stericycle, Inc. All rights reserved.
For more information, visit StericycleCommunications.com
or call 866-783-9820.
Communication Solutions
INCREASE COMMUNICATION. IMPROVE SATISFACTION.
In addition to global calls to all discharged patients, Stericycle Communication
Solutions can also target a specific floor, department, or service line to help your
hospital, physicians, nurses and staff set benchmarks for service performance and
satisfaction improvement.
Emergency Departments
Benefit from patient follow-up by identifying patients who may not
have scheduled a primary care physician (PCP) or specialist visit and
are non-compliant in follow-up appointment scheduling, and the added
touch point shapes an overall positive perception of their experience.
Cardiology Service Lines
Can maintain profitability and patient loyalty through post-discharge
follow-up calls that can also mitigate risk for readmissions with basic
questions to gauge discharge instruction understanding, enforce
follow up appointments and confirm medication compliance.
Surgery Departments
Can support patient recovery by confirming the understanding of
instructions of how to take care of themselves or to measure how well
the hospital did in managing patient pain during the inpatient stay.
Women’s Service Lines
Are an emerging focus for hospitals looking to drive downstream
revenue and promote additional services beyond labor and delivery.
Follow-up to this population allows for immediate hospital action to
remedy any service recovery needs and provide a positive experience
for this loyal patient base driving care decisions within a family.
About Stericycle Communicaton Solutions
Stericycle Communication Solutions is dedicated to improving relationships between
healthcare providers and the communities they serve. Stericycle Communication
Solutions helps hospitals and medical groups become the “top of mind” provider by
building lasting consumer relationships. By providing a compassionate, personal touch,
robust data, and customizable solutions, Stericycle Communication Solutions extends
the brand of the local provider through every patient contact, and provides hospitals
with business insights that allow them to enhance their reputation and achieve their
strategic goals.
Stericycle Communication
Solutions is dedicated to
improving relationships between
healthcare providers and the
communities they serve.