Filed Under: Nurse Triage Medical Answering Service Tagged With: answering service, home health, hospice, medical answering service, patient engagement, supporting nurses, telehealth, Triage Nurse

Healthcare doesn’t stick to a 9-5 schedule.

As the hospice and home-health space is steadily trying to work its way out of one of the greatest staffing shortages the industry has ever seen, providers are searching for cost effective solutions to reduce nurse-burnout, while still improving patient outcomes. However, issues like high turnover and compassion fatigue still stand in the way.

An after-hours triage service, with both clinical and non-clinical staff, is the perfect solution for alleviating emotional burdens on clinician staff and improving a patient’s access to healthcare day or night. Triage staff evaluate symptoms and determine the appropriate level of care, providing an effective and timely assessment of your patient’s health problems. Plus, it allows staff time for rest and recovery, resulting in reduced levels of burnout and better staffing all around. After-hours triage provides patient support, so your patient’s symptoms are much less likely to become emergencies.

Understanding After-Hours Triage

Answering after-hours phone calls on top of other on-call and pateint care responsibilities can be extremely stressful for nurses. Imagine if one of your nurses is with a patient during a home visit…when another patient calls. Suddenly there is an impasse:

If the nurse chooses not to take the call, they risk not helping someone in need.
If they do choose to take the call, it can make the patient and family at home feel like they don’t have the nurse’s full attention.

This predicament affects the safety of the caller, the experience of the patient and family at home–leaving the nurse feeling emotionally conflicted.

Luckily, after-hours triage is the leading solution for growing hospice and home-health organizations to stop back-to-back cycles of burnout and staffing shortages. When on-call staff is unavailable, triage can help fill care gaps by routing patient calls to an after-hours triage nurse. They act as a care team extension during non-business hours, reducing the number of calls on-the-job nurses receive. Triage nurses can handle non-emergent tasks like medication refills, provide symptom management, and offer clinical support.

When it comes to more complex calls, triage nurses can locate and send an on-call visit nurse to the patient for a thorough assessment. This way, nurses focus on caring for patients and families during home visits and freeing up down time when they need it. After-hours triage addresses both nurse burnout and the patient experience, becoming a dependable cost-effective solution to a nation-wide problem.

Strategies for Optimizing After-Hours Triage

Heat Mapping & Data Analysis

Tech-enabled after-hours triage services like CareXM provide agencies with call reporting data, so you can start pinpointing staffing gaps. Heat mapping, and call tracking organizes incoming patient volume by day, time, and call length. This allows providers to identify opportunities for improvement and recognize when support is needed the most to avoid overstaffing.

Patient Health Information

Top after-hours triage providers offer a secure platform that integrates patient data directly with electronic medical record (EMR) systems so your team can anticipate and respond quickly to patient needs. As calls need to be routed, having patient medical information on hand for both the provider and triage team makes it easier to route patients to the most appropriate caregiver possible.

After-Hours Strategy

Instead of having more staff during the busiest time of the day, work towards an after-hours strategy that reduces the need for an overhaul of full-time employees. A flexible 24/7 triage and medical answering support system will provide your staff with space to unwind from work, while providing your patients the peace of mind that their health matters every minute.

Remote Backup

Although it might be tempting to outsource your team completely, this could cause fractures in your workflow. Use your own on-call team, plus a team of remote on-call registered nurses as a backup. This increases efficiency for staffing processes while prioritizing the patient. Plus, it builds in extra redundancy during localized disaster situations.

Proactive Triage Programs

A great way to optimize staffing is by implementing proactive triage programs to prevent calls and reduce call volume during after-hours. Here are a few specific program ideas:

Tuck-in calls during regular hours and medication refill reminders before the weekend begins.
Proactive patient engagement programs that keep patients on track in their wellness journey and education.
Provide training, feedback, and recognition for achievements to improve employee-engagement values.

Outcome Measurements

In a recent CareXM case study, after-hours triage allowed staff 52% more time for critical care patients and family. It’s important to capture metrics that evaluate the success of smarter staffing for after-hours triage. With new technology and analytics, serving patients goes beyond just answering inbound calls. After-hours triage gives patients access to professional medical care on the first call, every time, minimizing delays for receiving care.

In the end, “Staffing Smarter” is not just about numbers and data–it’s about people. The patients who rely on healthcare professionals for their wellbeing, and the clinicians who devote their lives to caring for others. By putting the emotional needs of these individuals at the forefront of staffing decisions, healthcare organizations can truly reflect the compassion and empathy that lies at the heart of healthcare itself.

Lower Costs and Reduce Readmissions Today with CareXM

If you feel like your team needs backup, especially during high impact times, then you might need to explore after-hours staffing. With a triage service partner like CareXM, you can back up your team evenings, weekends, holidays, or even as a daytime overflow. On-demand clinical and non-clinical caregivers will represent your office with professionalism and compassion. Messages will be recorded and are available through our easy-to-use web portal. Plus, our patient activity reporting makes it easy for your team to follow up with patients after they’re back on shift. CareXM, even helps track calls to provide you with data insights that drive even greater efficiency.

CareXM is the kind of experienced, clinical partner you can count on to deliver the help you need to elevate your patient and caregiver experiences. Our mission is to help our partners effortlessly anticipate and respond to patient needs with triage technology backed by our on-demand triage team. Whether you need after-hours triage, our cost-saving hybrid triage solutions, or in-house triage call-center infrastructure, we help you flex and extend your care, so you reach patients in the moments they need help the most. From home health and hospice to health systems and more, CareXM will transform your patient approach to lower operating costs.

Filed Under: Nurse Triage Medical Answering Service Tagged With: home health, patient engagement, telehealth

Goshen’s Health Path to Enhanced Patient and Clinician Experience

In the world of healthcare, providing exceptional care to patients while improving the clinician experience can be a challenging venture. As believers in the power of quality care, CareXM helps home-health and hospice providers navigate staffing, financial, and patient care challenges to elevate the experience for all. Goshen Health, a renowned 3,000-employee Magnet Hospital, proved that effective experience management, home-health and hospice programs not only survive but thrive–even during the most intensive situations.

Before the emergence of the COVID pandemic, Goshen Health received their Magnet designation, assuring patients, families and the community of the highest quality care. This status showcased the entire organization as a leader in providing strong patient and clinician experiences. Goshen Health highlighted their adaptability by recognizing the importance of leveraging technology, restructuring processes, and focusing on its people. This innovative approach successfully saw them through this chaotic period, making them stronger for it. Director of Home Care and Hospice, Rebecca Simmons, spearheaded an innovative approach that combined technology, a dedicated triage system, and workforce restructuring to drive positive changes.

Here’s a closer look at Goshen Health’s action plan and the remarkable results they achieved within the first year:

The Action Plan

People, Processes & Technology

Goshen Health’s journey to improve the patient and clinician experience began with a holistic approach. First, they recognized that success would depend on addressing multiple parts of their operations. To achieve this delicate balance, they prioritized three key areas: people, processes, and technology.

People are at the heart of healthcare. Goshen became dedicated to supporting both patients and clinicians throughout this growth process, leaving no one behind.
Processes show who you are. Goshen left no stone unturned, dedicating time to transform their administrative processes throughout every part of their healthcare routines.
Technology transforms your quality of care. Goshen elevated their procedures with triage and telehealth which supported, maintained, and engaged the healthcare journey for all.

Restructure Employment

Goshen Health recognized they needed a dedicated workforce committed to their mission of quality care. To achieve a committed team, they undertook a significant restructuring effort and converted part-time employees into salaried full-time equivalents (FTEs). This significant change created opportunity for staff, but more importantly, it led to clear productivity expectations for everyone. It not only created a highly stable workforce, but also allowed for greater patient engagement opportunities and accountability efforts overall.

Engage Triage Technology

One of the pivotal steps in Goshen Health’s transformation was their commitment to partnering with a provider offering a care coordination platform with business intelligence for healthcare–CareXM. This collaboration allowed Goshen to streamline after-hours triage and leverage technology to enhance patient care and clinician support. With a robust triage system in place, the hospital staff could focus on what mattered most—proactive case management and improved patient outcomes.

A triage service partner like CareXM, combined with a hybrid triage model, back up your team on evenings, weekends, or during daytime overflow. On-demand clinical and non-clinical caregivers represent your office with professionalism and compassion. Messages are recorded and are available through CareXM’s easy-to-use web portal. Plus, cost-effective patient activity reporting makes it easy for your team to follow up with patients after they’re back on shift.

Goshen’s Remarkable Results

The changes implemented within Goshen Health yielded impressive results within just one year. These outcomes highlighted the success of their strategic approach and the positive impact on both patients and clinicians in many different aspects:

70% Reduction in Overtime Expenses: By optimizing their workforce alongside CareXM, Goshen Health achieved a remarkable reduction in overtime expenses. The considerate amount of savings allowed the hospital to invest in other areas that needed support the most. They were able to hire full-time case managers, as well as dedicated evening and weekend staff that ensured around-the-clock patient support.

Significant Reduction in After-Hours Calls: With a streamlined triage system in place, Goshen Health experienced a significant decrease in after-hours calls. This allowed for proactive patient management, ensuring that each patient received timely care and support–even over the phone.

Drastic Reduction in Call Times: When it came to telehealth services, Goshen found a true clinician-backed and solution-based partner. Together, shorter call times translated to improved patient satisfaction overall as complaints dwindled.

Benefits of Medical Call Answering Services-Care XM

Clinician Peace of Mind: The restructuring efforts and improved triage system provided clinicians with the peace of mind needed to tackle the overwhelming number of patients. Best of all, they could “unplug” and disconnect from work, still confident that their patients were receiving quality care during non-office hours.

Leadership in Employee Engagement: Goshen’s firm dedication to improving the clinician experience had a profound impact on employee engagement across the board. Their home health and hospice sector set the standard for emotional commitment, inspiring other departments to follow suit and work on behalf of Goshen’s other goals.

Enhanced Documentation and Virtual Mentoring: Accreditation reviewers from Press Ganey® noted significant improvements in clinician documentation and virtual mentoring. It was clear that Goshen’s commitment to quality care and continuous improvement had become a pioneer for home-health and hospice programs alike.

“CareXM has been worth its weight in gold and moved us toward our goals in patient satisfaction related to response times and colleague work-life balance” –Rebecca Simmons RN, BSM, MSA, BSed, NE-BC Director of Home Care and Hospice at Goshen Health.

With the Right Partnership, Providers Can Overcome Any Outcome

Goshen Health’s journey to enhance the patient and clinician experience serves as an inspiring example of what can be achieved through innovation, commitment, and strategic thinking. By focusing on people, processes, technology, and by partnering with CareXM, they achieved remarkable results within a short timeframe. This success story underscores the profound impact that a patient-centered approach can have on both clinician and patient satisfaction, ultimately making healthcare a better experience for everyone involved.

Fortunately, CareXM is the kind of experienced, clinical partner you can count on to deliver the help you need to elevate your patient and caregiver experiences. Our mission is to help our partners effortlessly anticipate and respond to patient needs with triage technology backed by our on-demand triage team. Whether you need after-hours triage, our cost-saving hybrid triage solutions, or in-house triage call-center infrastructure, we help you flex and extend your care, so you reach patients in the moments they need help the most. From home health and hospice to health systems and more, CareXM will transform your patient approach to lower operating costs.

Filed Under: Clinical Triage Service Tagged With: answering service, Art of Nursing, difference between hospice and palliative care, home health, Home-Health, hospice, hospice care, how to help hospice patients, nurses, palliative care, telehealth, Triage Nurse

Our Cost Cutting Strategies

How can hospice and palliative care providers strike a balance between cost of care, financial sustainability and high-quality care in an ever-evolving industry landscape?

Quality care isn’t just about clinician/patient face time together, of course. It also involves everything underpinning that essential relationship—processes, staffing, systems and technology, processes, education, quality improvement, and even partnerships. Here are some strategies to reduce costs and elevate the patient experience.

Streamlining Administrative Processes

Administrative tasks grow as your organization does. One way to streamline these administrative processes is to map them out and reduce redundancy, that isn’t essential. Spend some time observing staff and patient interactions objectively. For example, are there patient visits that could be handled over the phone or with technology to lower travel costs?

Another place to check is with your electronic health records (EHRs) and communications. Is there seamless documentation? Reduced paperwork? Does your technology automate communication between different care teams and patients so that clinicians can operate at the top of their license? What can be handled digitally that isn’t already? There are likely more processes than you think.

Staffing Optimization

Your healthcare staff is the lifeblood of your organization, with staffing shortages acting like a tourniquet. Consider cross-training staff to broaden capacity and cover gaps. Better yet, extend your care team by outsourcing after-hours and overflow care using flexible staffing models which adapt to fluctuating patient loads. Lower your cost-per-call with a mix of clinical and non-clinical staff. CareTriage support easily routes calls to the right person at the right time, reducing burnout and improving retention while improving outcomes.

Utilizing Telehealth and Remote Monitoring

Telehealth technology has come a long way. Monitor hospice patients remotely to reduce the need for costly in-person visits. Create automated, personalized patient check-ins via text, phone surveys, transforming the way they view their health journey. Check vital signs and communicate with patients daily no matter where they are to improve patient engagement and care compliance. As patients grow in confidence, they better manage their own care, ultimately making the provider’s job easier and more cost effective.

Effective Medication Management

Meds are a vital part in the patient’s care plan, but managing them can be difficult and costly. Medication management is a strategy that monitors and engages patients and caregivers, educating them about prescription intake and improving care quality. Providers provide medication management plans and address questions so that patients can take a more active role in managing their healthcare.

Automated tuck-in calls help ensure patients have their medications and supplies before the weekend, when they’re more costly to refill. During the call patients can also indicate they have symptom changes so that providers can triage proactively instead of readmitting or calling 911.

Patient and Family Education

Receiving care from multiple providers, for multiple conditions, can often be confusing for patients and their families. Careful education throughout their healthcare journey gives your patients a peace of mind and provides them the tools and knowledge to manage their symptoms at home. Telehealth and patient engagement platforms can regularly push out videos and articles to help patients learn more about their conditions so they can modify their behaviors for better outcomes.

Quality Improvement Initiatives

Boost hospice and palliative care satisfaction scores and reimbursements as you pinpoint areas of improvement. Successful quality improvement (QI) programs consistently measure and analyze data, highlighting areas for improvement that might otherwise be missed.

For example, are you tracking patient call data to determine when and where you have gaps in triage coverage? Can you quantify which calls are tasks that could be automated? Do you have data that directs where to allocate training resources that will most improve scores? With the correct quality improvement initiatives, your organization will deliver resources that assist your staff and strengthen your patient care services for the better (AAHPM).

Need Help Reducing Hospice and Palliative Care Costs? Choose CareXM.

With today’s healthcare industry pressures, providers must develop sustainable strategies to reduce costs for hospice and palliative care patients. With the right people, processes, technologies—and partners—these challenges can actually transform organizations and improve outcomes.

Fortunately, CareXM is the kind of experienced, clinical partner you can count on to help you elevate your patient and caregiver experiences. Our mission is to help our partners effortlessly anticipate and respond to patient needs with triage technology backed by our on-demand triage team.

Whether you need after-hours triage, our cost-saving hybrid triage solutions, or in-house triage call-center infrastructure, we help you flex and extend your care, so you reach patients in the moments they need help the most. From home health and hospice to health systems and more, CareXM will transform your patient approach to lower operating costs.

Understanding After-Hours Triage