Becker's Hospital Review

28 PATIENT EXPERIENCE 5 strategies to improve the patient-physician relationship By Anuja Vaidya L istening carefully and taking note of social cues are two key ways in which providers can improve their relationships with their patients, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers conducted a mixed-methods study that involved a systematic literature review of 73 studies; observations of 27 primary care encounters at three healthcare clinics; and qualitative interviews with 10 physicians, 27 patients and 30 nonmedical professionals whose occupations involve intense interactions with people, such as firefighters. Researchers identified the following five practices that could enhance physician presence and establish a meaningful connection between physicians and their patients: 1. Take a moment to prepare for the visit and focus before greeting a patient. 2. Listen intently and avoid interruptions. 3. Find out what the patient cares about and incorporate these priorities into the conversation during the visit. 4. Connect with the patient's story and consider life circumstances that influence the patient's health, while celebrating successes. 5. Explore emotional cues and validate the patient's emotions. n Patients 60% more likely to respond to texts than emails By Andrea Park I f you want patients to respond to hospital and health system outreach, send them a text. That's the central finding of a report from Luma Health that examined the most successful patient engagement innova- tions of 2019 and concluded that automated, two-way tex- ting far outweighs the ability of email and phone outreach to engage patients to schedule and confirm appointments. Three takeaways from the report: 1. Reminder response rates were significantly higher for those sent via text message: a 52 percent response rate, compared to 28 percent and 26 percent for email and phone reminders, respectively. 2. Patients' preference for text communication is age-agnos- tic; in fact, text message reminder confirmation rates were 13 percent higher for the 55-74 age group than those aged 18-34, the youngest group included in the report. Though the oldest age group studied (75-94) had the lowest text- based response rate, at 39 percent, that is only a small drop from the youngest cohort's 43 percent rate. 3. While less than half of patients typically respond to post-appointment requests for feedback, they are signifi- cantly more likely to do so if the request arrives via text. According to the report, 38 percent of patients offered feedback by text, compared to 19 percent of those who were asked for information via email. n Chicago hospital apologizes after family of 7-year-old gunshot victim was forced to wait outside in cold By Gabrielle Masson C hicago-based John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County apologized to the family of a 7-year-old girl who was shot Oct. 31, 2019, after they weren't allowed to see her and were forced to wait hours outside in the cold, according to NBC 5. Giselle Zamago was trick-or-treating when she was shot, allegedly by a 15-year-old gang member, and rushed to the hospital. The suspect meant to shoot a rival gang member, according to prosecutors. Hospital police wouldn't let the Zamago family inside the hospital, even after police vouched for them, a source told NBC 5. Eventually, police ordered cars for the family so they didn't have to wait in the cold rain. The hospital has a policy allowing visitor restrictions when "a high profile trauma incident occurs, or when incidents have the potential to pose increased risk to patients and staff," Caryn Stancik, a spokesperson for Stroger Hospital, said in a Nov. 5 statement to NBC 5. "We misapplied this policy ... and have apologized to the family." Giselle was in stable condition as of Nov. 4. When NBC 5 contacted the Zamango family, they declined to comment. n

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