When it Comes to Patient Engagement in Florida, Parrish Medical Center Shines Bright

In other attempts to improve patients’ personal health management, PMC has launched a series of online presentations, called Emmi, that make complex medical information easy to understand, says Sellers. “We empower patients to take action around their particular healthcare event or condition in language they understand, at a time when they are ready to learn, and through the devices they already own. Using a soothing voice, animated graphics, and easy-to-read text, Emmi programs take you through your upcoming procedure or help you manage your chronic condition.”

A further example of personal health management at PMC is its Ask 3 Initiative, which urges patients to ask the following three questions every time they talk to a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist: What is my main problem? What do I need to do? Why is it important for me to do this?

The patient satisfaction category is based on industry response from public patient satisfaction data collected by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS). The survey is called the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (HCAHPS), with the intent to provide a standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients' perspectives on hospital care.  The points awarded in this category are directly driven by HCAHPS performance. According to some studies, higher patient satisfaction via the HCAHPS survey is associated with improved guideline adherence and lower inpatient mortality rates.

Based on assessments of 2,985 hospitals by the CMS, PMC is Central Florida’s No. 1 hospital in areas of clinical care, patient’s hospital experience, and low cost, says Sellers. “Each month, every hospital department reviews a matrix of quality, service and safety measurements related to our strategic plan.  We call it our Game Plan, and it has enabled PMC’s care partners to earn numerous quality distinctions.”

The last criteria, social engagement, is the extent to which health systems engage with their communities via social networking channels. Maximum points are awarded to health systems that not only have a social media presence, but also have engaged a relatively large audience that expresses positive sentiment towards the health system.

According to Sellers, “Since experiences on the internet and in social media are held to the same standards of excellence as any other experience with the medical group, PMC made a deliberate decision to not rush into social media without first understanding what our community really needed to manage their health with social media platforms. PMC chose to listen first and thanks to social media’s broad reach, we can hear our community’s voices more today than ever before.”

Certainly, patient engagement, like many other aspects of healthcare, is still an emerging concept, but according to Sellers, it’s not the notion of engaging patients and their families to achieve their best health that is new to healthcare.  “[Instead], what is ‘new’ are the ever-advancing technologies that breakthrough access barriers to reliable information and tools that serve to engage and empower people to manage their health from anywhere and at any time. However, the challenge is not to keep pace, but to lead the race.”