Becker's Hospital Review

23 PATIENT EXPERIENCE Christ Hospital Health Network starts concierge service for patients By Anuja Vaidya C hrist Hospital Health Network in Cincinnati launched a free concierge service for pa- tients in December 2019. The service, ezCare Concierge, connects patients with a nurse patient navigator to help them with their concerns and questions. The patient navigator also can verify insurance coverage, help patients make appointments and find specialists close to where they live. Navigating today's healthcare environment can be a stressful experience for patients, according to Michael Karram, MD, medical director of women's health at the health network. This complexity can often delay people from seeking care. "We created ezCare Concierge to break this cycle and help guide people to the care they need," he said. Patients can reach a nurse navigator via phone, email or the health network's website. n Patient satisfaction in hospitals dropped 5% in 2019 By Andrea Park T hough U.S. consumers grew more satisfied with the health insurance industry in 2019, according to a Nov. 19 report from the American Customer Satisfaction In- dex, satisfaction in hospitals saw a major drop, making it one of the worst sectors measured. Of the nine industries measured in the Finance, Insurance and Health Care Report 2018-19, only health insurance and internet investment services showed improvements in customer satisfac- tion. Health insurance was given a satisfaction score of 74 out of 100, up nearly 1.5 percent year over year. According to the ACSI, policyholder satisfaction has not been this high in a decade. Of the major payers, Humana ranked highest in policyholder satisfaction, followed by Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, United- Health, Cigna and Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Hospital care, meanwhile, saw its satisfaction score drop more than 5 percent to a 72 out of 100, even as ambulatory services stayed stable at a score of 77 for the fourth year in a row. Overall, the Healthcare and Social Assistance sector saw a 2.4 percent drop in satisfaction, for a score of 74.7. n WellSpan Health taps digital health platform to encourage patient feedback By Andrea Park Y ork, Pa.-based WellSpan Health is integrating a new feature into its EHR system that will allow patients to share anecdotal informa- tion about their healthcare history before and after clinical visits. The PatientWisdom platform will initially launch in the family medicine, internal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology departments at five of WellSpan's practices throughout central Pennsylvania before eventually expanding across the health system's entire network, according to a Dec. 17 news release. WellSpan patients will be able to access PatientWis- dom's HIPAA-compliant platform via smartphone or computer. Information they share is then collected into "inSIGHT" summaries that are automatically uploaded to their health records to be viewed by care teams. n How this Cleveland Clinic hospital is accommodating patients with autism By Mackenzie Bean A kron (Ohio) General Hospital is working to build a more inclusive, accommodating healthcare envi- ronment for patients with autism spectrum disorder through an initiative with the Autism Society of Greater Akron, reported ABC affiliate News 5 Cleveland. Since 2017, the hospital has trained more than 650 employ- ees on how to identify a person with autism and make accom- modations as needed. The training is based on curriculum from the ASGA. "It is often difficult for young adults with autism to transition from seeing pediatric providers to an adult setting," Laurie Cramer, the group's executive director, told News 5 Cleveland. "This initiative is designed to help change that here in Akron." Other efforts to create a more inclusive care environment include the use of sensory-friendly materials in care areas and the adoption of communication tools like tablets and picture charts. Akron General is also updating its EHR to alert clini- cians of patients' autism and changing patient flow processes to place patients in quieter rooms sooner. As a result of its efforts, Akron General received an "Autism Friendly Hospital" designation from ASGA. n

• Cover