230 Texas Hospitals Financially Penalized for Excess Readmissions
NectarOM Health Automates Patient Outreach and Engagement to Better Manage Post- Discharge Care and Reduce Readmissions
Oct. 2, 2019 (Dallas, Texas) – 230 Texas hospitals will see their Medicare payments reduced by up to 3 percent for 2020 as a penalty for having an excess number of patients return to the hospital following treatment. Despite a decade of improvement, hospitals’ ability to continue reducing avoidable readmissions requires new investment in technology solutions.
With increasing focus on consumerism in health care, hospital leaders are looking more at technology systems that have worked in other industries to enhance customer loyalty and retention and improve the customer experience. NectarOM, a leader in customer engagement technology in the retail and hospitality industries has entered the health care space with large organizations like United Health Group to help hospitals and physician groups holistically engage patients in their care not only to grow patient satisfaction but to improve health care outcomes, such as reducing avoidable readmissions.
“NectarOM Health helps hospitals proactively engage patients in better managing their post-discharge care to avoid unnecessary hospital readmissions,” said Amrit Kirpalani, president/CEO of NectarOM. “With the NectarOM platform, hospitals can automate the delivery of personalized content, such as appointment reminders, and help patients refill prescriptions or find resources to support their recovery and healing.”
Patient engagement strategies increasingly are seen as the key to improving care quality and outcomes. Patients who indicated on HCAHPS surveys that they were not engaged in their own care were 34 percent more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, according to a study published in Patient Experience. Another study published in the International Journal of Integrated Care found that post-discharge, more than half of patients are unable remember their follow-up appointment dates, and nearly two-thirds cannot recall dosages or names of new medications.
The NectarOM patient engagement platform gives hospitals the ability to leverage the power of technology to deliver actionable, relevant and personalized content to patients so that they keep follow-up appointments, adhere to care guidelines, understand physician instructions, and get help when they need it. “Navigating the health care system can be a challenge for patients recovering from a major procedure,” said Kirpalani. “Having a support system is essential. The NectarOM Health patient engagement platform gives hospitals the ability to be a part of that support system.”
Readmissions penalties defined a decade in transformation of the U.S. health care system. Introduced as part of the Affordable Care Act, which became law in 2010, the legislation put quality and patient safety at the forefront of hospital operations. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services assesses these financial penalties for hospitals when they have an excess number of hospital readmissions for six
conditions and procedures: heart attack, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, pneumonia, artery bypass graft surgery, elective total hip and/or total knee replacement.
For more information on how NectarOM Health works with hospitals to build a patient engagement system and improve health care quality and outcomes and reduce costs, contact Amrit Kirpalani at amrit@nectarom.com or 305/725-7921.
–30– ABOUT NECTAROM NectarOM is a Dallas-based omnichannel personalization company that works with organizations in retail, hospitality and health care to create a 360-degree view of their consumers to grow their loyalty and satisfaction.
