The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey has helped to provide standardized metrics regarding patient perspectives on satisfaction and quality care. The 27-question survey covers everything from communication to cleanliness, pain management, and more. As more patients are admitted to hospitals, and the strain on staffing stretches the ability of nurses and doctors to provide the level of patient satisfaction to get high scores on the HCAHPS survey, more healthcare facilities are turning to telenursing as a solution.
Patient Satisfaction Is a Top Priority
For the past few years, healthcare providers have placed an emphasis on patient satisfaction with a focus on communication and attentiveness. While this initiative looks good on paper, staffing and logistics under the traditional model for hospital stay often have healthcare facilities walking a tightrope between the quality of service and the sheer quantity of patients. Time is at a premium and making rounds is often inefficient when certain patients need constant monitoring. Additionally, patients want more communication and responsiveness, which can be a major hurdle when patients outnumber staff on-hand.
Telenursing Improves Satisfaction without Increasing Costs
Telenursing has helped providers improve their patient satisfaction metrics by centralizing patient monitoring and increasing communication with patients and loved ones. With telenursing, patient rooms are fitted with cameras and microphones so patients can be monitored at a centralized station. This gives on-duty staff the ability to respond to the individual needs of patients instead of stretching the nursing staff over constant round. Telenursing allows hospital staff to pay attention to room cleanliness, potential at-risk patients, and provide that crucial one-on-one time that patients value and need. The ability to use telenursing and telemedicine to discuss diagnoses, prescriptions, procedures, and more with patients and loved ones improves transparency, empathy, and communication – all of which are critical metrics on the HCAHPS survey – without placing a strain on staff and scheduling.
The implementation of telenursing stations and equipment in healthcare facilities can help nurses to focus more on their skills and use them where they are needed most, while also greatly improving patient satisfaction across the board.