2019 was a busy year for GetWellNetwork, one that saw the continued integration of GetWell Loop, the rollout of GetWell Anywhere and an exciting collaboration with Cerner, helping to put patients at the center of care.
Over on the blog, we worked hard to bring you important conversations around topics that were at the forefront of the industry. From workplace violence to personalizing healthcare for patients, you read and you engaged with us.
Here’s a look back at the topics that truly sparked your interest this year:
1. From script to conversation: Making patient rounding personal
THE GIST: “Today’s patients don’t just want to be cured; they want to feel cared for during their hospital stay. And with reimbursement linked to patient satisfaction, it’s crucial for hospitals to take a more proactive approach to delivering an excellent experience.”
WHY IT MATTERS: Making healthcare personal is what we do here at GetWellNetwork. And, for those patients who have been treated as just another number, that personal engagement has been a long time coming. In engaging with this post, you showed that you care just as strongly about personalizing the care journey for your patients.
2. Bridging the digital divide: Improving patient experience across care settings
THE GIST: “Never before has the need to influence patients outside their in-person healthcare encounters been more important. As value-based care takes hold at hospitals and health systems across the country, reimbursement and growth strategy depend on engaging patients well before and well after their hospital stay or clinic visit. But trying to engage patients when they are not physically in front of their providers is extremely difficult.”
WHY IT MATTERS: Many healthcare organizations have been nervous to take on digital patient engagement tools, out of concern that they’ll lose the personal aspect of their patients’ care. But in today’s day and age, engaging with patients outside of just an in-person setting is crucial, and digital tools can help you do just that — and with a personal touch, to boot.
3. Healthcare workers under assault: Taking steps to address workplace violence
THE GIST: “From violent verbal outbursts to physical assaults, healthcare workers face threats to their safety almost daily in hospitals across the U.S. For hospitals, acknowledging that there is a problem is the first step. The next step is to create a violence prevention plan to increase safety, heighten awareness of violence and implement interventions to prevent it. By taking a proactive approach to tackling workplace violence in hospitals, we can create safer environments for healthcare workers and, at the same time, improve patient care.”
WHY IT MATTERS: As a healthcare organization, your most valuable assets are your providers and care teams, the incredible people who care for your patients. Increasingly, those same healthcare workers are facing workplace violence. You engaged with this information, showing us that one of your top priorities is protecting your care teams and, subsequently, the patients they devote their time to.
4. What do patients want out of patient engagement apps?
THE GIST: “Automated daily communication takes the status quo of healthcare one step further, ensuring that patients feel empowered, connected and heard by their care providers. Through a patient engagement communication-based app, patients can remain connected to their healthcare providers, even long after they’ve left the hospital giving patients a sense of security throughout their healthcare journey.”
WHY IT MATTERS: Patients know better than anyone else what it is they want out of their care. From access to humanity to a seamless experience, patient engagement technology can deliver. Providers can’t possibly be everywhere at once, but automated communication allows them to bridge that gap.
5. Lifting the patient voice: Delivering a personalized healthcare experience
THE GIST: “Everyone agrees that educating patients and caregivers is vitally important for a safe discharge and optimal outcome. However, the reality is that patient education often becomes a cursory routine performed at discharge when the patient is vulnerable and overwhelmed.”
WHY IT MATTERS: Centering the patient in their own care is crucial to successful, positive outcomes for patients and organizations. By personalizing and automating that same care, patients are empowered to participate and collaborate with the healthcare team on their own terms.
We’re excited to see what topics emerge over the next year, what you’ll find interesting and what will spark debate.
From all of us here at GetWellNetwork, here’s to a happy, healthy 2020, with plenty of education and discussion for all our readers!