Patient Satisfaction

1. A connected patient is a satisfied patient
The use of Interactive Patient Care technology to increase
patient satisfaction and Return on Investment

2. What is Interactive Patient Care (IPC)
Interactive patient care empowers patients with the ability to access more information
and helpful services to have a greater reach of communication with hospital staff while
receiving their treatment. IPC technology will assist hospitals to increase communication
and deliver educational materials, entertainment and a variety of services in an effort to
make the patient’s experience as comforting as possible. Effective IPC systems provide
benefits to the patients as well as the staff and hospital administrators.
Typically content is delivered to the patient room via TV displays and navigated through a
remote control. More advanced solutions are delivered to a bedside touch screen monitor.
Intuitive touch screen applications right in front of the patient are much more likely to be
engaged, touched and navigated to access information and surveys.
IPC technology should increase communitcation by providing applications such as webcam
interfacing, patient education, patient safety videos, pain management, entertainment, food
ordering, digital nurse whiteboards, personalized surveys and the ability to gather instant
feedback or comments from patients to quickly solve patient complaints pre-discharge.
This increases the patient experience and satisfaction during their stay.
What are the drivers behind IPC ?
As more hospital quality metrics become publicly available, transparency in quality of care
has created a shift to Consumer Directed Healthcare. Widely available information about
performance metrics starts to shape the decisions of patients about where to seek care.1
The Healthcare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS)
survey is a mandatory survey administered to hospitalized patients post discharge by the
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). HCAHPS “is a standardized survey
instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients’ perceptions of their
hospital experience” 2 CMS has announced that satisfaction measures will be an indicator of
reimbursements rates to hospitals.
Increased transparency in hospital quality, regulatory compliance and increased competition
for an aging baby boomer generation has led executive staffs to seek quick adoption of
quality improvement processes and technology to increase both customer loyalty and
patient satisfaction. Improving the experience of a single patient can affect a hospital’s
bottom line and pay for service initiatives many times over 3

3. What does increased Patient Experience and Satisfaction mean for your hospital?
“A high level of satisfaction will lead to greatly increased customer loyalty. And increased
customer loyalty is the single most important driver of long-term financial performance.”4
 A direct increase in profitabilty “When consumers choose a
 Improved HCAHPS scores hospital; patient experience is
 Higher re-embursements from CMS the leading factor”5
 Loyal patients and new customers McKinsey Quarterly 2007
Patient Satisfaction and Return On Investment
Patient loyalty translates into serious revenue gains. By improving patient satisfaction,
providers increase future patient volumes through existing patients and their personal
networks. On the flip side, for every patient who complains, 20 dissatisfied patients do
not. Of those dissatisfied patients who do not complain, 90 percent will not return.6
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, calculated that improving patient satisfaction
scores resulted in $2.3 million in additional revenues annually from repeat customers.7
“Satisfied patients return for care and the positive word of mouth from satisfied patients
will bring new patients into the practice” 8
Accounting for both return business and referrals, one study found that improving patient
satisfaction survey results by just one point can lead to increased profits of $1443 per

4. patient day.11 The hospitals that annually have the highest profit margin usually have very
high patient satisfaction scores. There is a significant association between patient
satisfaction survey ratings and risk management episodes. Each one-point decrease in score
is associated with a 5 percent increase in the rate of risk management episodes. 12
Listening to Patients is the key to success
Research shows that there is a direct correlation between communication and patient
satisfaction. Leveraging the power of superior Interactive Patient Care systems, hospitals
can now achieve levels of communication with patients that previously did not exist.
Informed and involved patients experience better outcomes. 13
Sufficient communication is the best strategy to insure a positive patient experience.
Patients who receive in-person communication augmented by an Interactive Patient Care
system that provides educational materials, procedural information, combined with the
ability to reach a patient advocate allowing patients to feel confident their voices will be
heard and responded to in a timely manner, will greatly improve satisfaction levels.
Response to concerns and complaints is usually the No. 1 area that hospitals can improve,
even though it is not exclusively a nurse area. Having a service recovery plan or being able
to triage complaints should be a priority for hospitals. The best hospitals are looking at
individual patient comments on satisfaction surveys. The hospitals that are doing it right are
good at communication--with patients and with other staff within the hospital. From the
patient perspective, meeting patient information needs is vital for their satisfaction . 14
Reducing Readmission Rates
After procedures, improving
discharge instructions has been
proven to greatly reduce
readmission rates15 . Medicare
spending on these potentially
preventable readmissions is
substantial: $5 billion for cases
readmitted within 7 days, $8
billion for cases readmitted within
15 days, and $12 billion for cases
readmitted within 30 days.
Hospitals can reduce readmissions
by improving communication with
patients and better coordinating
their care transition at discharge.16
At the average hospital, more
than 25 percent of patients said

5. nurses had not always communicated well with them. “Poor communication is a major
source of medical errors,” Dr. Clancy said. “If doctors are not listening carefully, patients
may not bring up important information. Patients who do not understand discharge
instructions are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital or end up in the emergency
room.”17 IPC systems that deliver detailed discharge instructions will reduce readmission
rates.
Using IPC systems to deliver patient education
77% of commercially-insured patients would switch hospitals to one that
better informs patients about treatment both during and after their visit.
-McKinsey Quartley
Studies estimate that nurses spend upwards of 23% of their time on repetitive patient
education17 . In a normal consultation with a physician, patients will generally only retain
20% of the material. In one study, with 12 specific information and support topics listed,
patients chose information as their greatest need. Ninety-seven percent of cancer patients
wanted more feedback on the progress of the treatment, 88% wanted more information
on the probable future of their illness, and 91% wanted more information about their
illness.19
Off loading patients with stacks of paper is not “green” and should be a thing of the past.
IPC systems should offer patients with unlimited resources, video, animations and web
based content. Educating the family members and caregivers adds tremendous value to
the healing process, and so, having communication in a manner that engages family members
is uniquely valuable.
About IMS and the Interactive Patient Advocacy System
IMS is a privately held technology company positioned today to deliver advanced IPC
systems, electronic data collection and e-reporting software solutions to meet growing
challenges in the medical industry.
In conjunction with superior data collection, e-reporting and executive dashboard
management tools, IMS solves the problems of patient and family education and
communication in a unique bedside application.
The IPAS software allows patients, parents, family members and administrators to engage
the IPAS interactive touch screen by simply touching the icons to access applications. It is
very easy to use by all ages and demographics as IPAS supports multi-lingual versions.

6. The built in webcam feature allows patients, family members, doctors, friends and
classmates to stay in visual and audio communication 24x7, creating a feeling of comfort and
creating efficiencies for doctors and physicians offsite.
With each touch of the screen, the IPAS software captures user data into the IMS database.
The data captured from patient and family members surveys can be formatted into e-
reports and shared electronically real time via the IPAS executive dashboard to staff
members and executives, this allows staff to intervene based on feedback received
before problems escalate.
Hospitals can monitor staff performance and significantly improve outcomes by receiving
patient and family member feedback directly from the IPAS system at bedside.
Hospitals can provide educational materials and updates to patients and family members
during the stay and post discharge. This can reduce patient return visits and hospital cost.
Improving discharge instructions has been proven to greatly reduce readmission rates.15
Applications such as entertainment, art, reading materials and music provide a calming
distraction to reduce patient stress, and increase positive feelings.
Real time data collected at bedside enable hospitals to head off problems before they
grow and assist in retaining existing patients and the opportunity to create new patients
from their personal networks.
IPAS helps to ensure both patient and family are being monitered 24x7 and that feedback
is made available to staff for intervention with problems that may hurt hospital scores or
reputation.
The IPAS bedside application is an intuitive touch screen system. The IPAS is positioned
close to the patient and is much more accessible and engaging than a TV that is typically
over 20 ft from the bedside. TV based systems are harder to see and harder to use.
Touch screen interfaces have become common user platforms in our everyday lives at gas
stations, airport check-ins, grocery stores and on most smart phones. The built-in webcam
enables a powerful two way visual communication that can not be offered in TV based
systems.
The Interacrtive Patient Advocacy System is a superior tool to increase patient and family
satisfaction, increase hospital staff effeciencies, and to collect and share patient data.
Authored by Drew G Davis
Offensive Coordinator
Interactive Medical Services, LLC 2010

7. Sources
1 Grote, KD., Mango, PD., Sutaria, SS. “Transforming US Hospitals” The McKinsey Quarterly
2007
2 www.hcahpsonline.org HCAHPS fact sheet, March 2009
3 “Looking to improve financial results? Start by listening to patients” Healthcare Financial
Management Association. Oct 2008
4 “Looking to improve financial results? Start by listening to patients” Healthcare Financial
Management Association. Oct 2008
5 Grote, KD. “A better hospital experience.” The McKinsey Quarterly 2007
6 Harkey, J. “Quality of health care and financial performance: is there a link?” Health Care
Management Review 1992; 17(4): 55-63
7 “Return on investment: increasing profitability by improving patient satisfaction.” Press Ganey
Associates, Inc. 2008
8 Jones TO, Sasser WE. (1995). Why Satisfied Customers Defect. Harvard Business Review November-
December 1995, 88-99.
9 “Looking to improve financial results? Start by listening to patients” Healthcare Financial
Management Association. Oct 2008
10 “Looking to improve financial results? Start by listening to patients” Healthcare Financial
Management Association. Oct 2008
11 Garman, A. “Patient satisfaction as a predictor of return-to-provider behavior: analysis and
assessment of financial implications.” Quality Management in Health Care 2004; 13(1) pp. 75-
80
12 “Looking to improve financial results? Start by listening to patients” Healthcare Financial
Management Association. Oct 2008
13 Kaplan, S. “Assessing the effects of physician-patient interactions on the outcomes of chronic
disease.” Medical Care 1989; 27 (3 suppl): S110-27
14 “How Can Nurse Leaders Boost Patient Satisfaction Scores?” Healthcare Financial
Management Association. , An interview with Deirdre Mylod
15 Landro, L. “keeping patients from landing back in the hospital.” The Wall Street Journal
December, 12, 2007
16 2007 Report to Congress: Reforming the Delivery System, Medicare Payment Advisory Committee,
2008. (Available at www.medpac.gov.)
17 “Study Finds Many Patients Dissatisfied With Hospitals “ NY Time by ROBERT PEAR
Published: March 29, 2008
18 Knee, K. “More than a wise patient care decision, computer based education makes good
business sense.” Oncology Interactive Education Series
19 Butow PN, Maclean M, Dunn SM, et al.: The dynamics of change: cancer patients'
preferences for information, involvement and support. Ann Oncol 8 (9): 857-63, 1997.

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