Valerie Deming
Mar 3 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutes
In a first-of-its-kind study conducted in conjunction with Porter Research, we captured the voice of the hospice family caregiver and their demand is clear: caregivers and patients want advanced technology that can keep them securely connected with providers. In fact, a significant percentage — 96% for home health and 80% for hospice — are willing to choose providers based on the ability to communicate effectively in real time.
In this blog, we explore our survey results and five ways technology can improve satisfaction among caregivers through real-time communication.
Opportunities for improvement in home health and hospice
57% of patients and family caregivers claim that home health providers need to improve on five communications-related HHCAHPS survey categories:
- Staying informed and up to date about care or treatment received in the home
- Training and education materials to help with care plans
- Arrival time at the home and any schedule changes
- Timely response to urgent issues
- General communication regarding medication changes or equipment needs
On the hospice side, only 43% of family caregivers claim to be “very satisfied” with their providers on the four Hospice CAHPS survey questions most impacted by communication:
- Communication with family
- Training family to care for patient
- Getting timely help
- Emotional and spiritual support
How can technology help?
As seen in this graph, consumers expect quick responses to questions or urgent needs. 96% of patients and family caregivers surveyed indicated that the method of communication played a role in their HHCAHPS survey responses.
Outdated communication methods are holding home health and hospice providers back due to be slow and unsecure — the most common being phone, email, and text. This highlights how home health providers are falling behind when it comes to customer-centric communication strategies.
5 ways technology can improve satisfaction in both home health and hospice through real-time communication
With secure, real-time group messaging solutions that include the care team, patient, family caregiver, and external partners, CitusHealth makes connection more accessible than ever — empowering staff to provide better care and improving the patient/caregiver experience.
Here are five ways our technology can improve patient and caregiver satisfaction — and, ultimately, HHCAHPS scores:
- Help reduce response times by automatically escalating inbound communications to the right care team member.
- Offer omni-channel communication to give patients and caregivers their preferred mode.
- Align tech investments with consumer needs—such as group chats, telehealth video sessions, equipment delivery coordination, instant responses to urgent questions, and eSignature capabilities.
- Help ensure technology supports the latest CMS FHIR standard and integrates with your EMR.
- Turn real-time technology into a competitive advantage with advanced communications capabilities.
Here are five ways our technology can improve patient and caregiver satisfaction — and, ultimately, Hospice CAHPS scores:
- Receive rapid responses to urgent questions.
- Conducting group chats with the hospice nurse and the entire family.
- Video chatting directly with the hospice medical director.
- Coordinating medication and equipment needs.
- Knowing about schedule changes, such as nurse or aide visits.
Implementing technology that enables real-time communication will be a clear win for your organization and those you serve. Experience CitusHealth and the many benefits of virtual care technology.
