How the Connected In-room Digital Experience can lead to activated patients and better outcomes
Patients are watching in-room TVs 85% of the time… that’s 50 minutes of screen time for every waking hour, or almost twice as much TV viewing than when at home. 1 When all eyes are on TVs, Health Systems must maximize the screen by transforming this asset into a connected in-room digital experience (CIDE) which directs viewing patients to become engaged patients, engaged patients to become activated patients, and activated patients to patients with better outcomes.
All About Engagement
Many studies illustrate that patient engagement implies better outcomes, increased revenue and reduced readmissions. As the logic goes, a patient who is paying attention to their care journey is more likely to look out for better choices related to their health, which leads to all the positives.
Researchers across the industry have sought out reasons or strategies to create engaged patients because of the lasting benefits. One such framework that gives clinicians engagement tools is the 5As. 2 Interestingly, clinical teams have a greater opportunity to affect the first three steps because these occur quickly and during treatment,
“For many behaviors, A1 through A3 can occur during one encounter and may take only a few moments. Conversely, A4 and A5 – assisting patients and arranging follow-up – often require intensive support extended over a period of time.” 2
If the success of creating Engaged Patients would be increase because steps A4 – Assist and A5 – Arrange were digitally inserted into the During Treatment phases without disruption to clinical workflow, health systems could potentially see corresponding increases in better outcomes.
Engagement vs. Activation
One reason why engagement frameworks are valuable is because they convert patients beyond engagement into statistically significant activation. Activated Patients are generally considered a type of Engaged Patient 3 and typically experience 12% better outcomes within 10 days of treatment. 4
According to the research, the motivating factor that moves the needle is “Discharge Teaching Intervention.” In short, whether it is ‘Assist & Arrange’ or directed discharge education, a patient is more likely to experience better outcomes if the planned clinical follow up is in place as soon as possible, ideally before the patient even leaves the treatment room.
The Game Changer
Lincata’s Connected In-Room Digital Experience (“CIDE”) offers the solution. Lincata’s Linc360 is the only in-room system that emphasizes:
Patient Activation in digital portal or app
Discharge instructions directed from integrated EHR data
Guided RX and Follow Up Appointment capabilities
In addition, Lincata is non-disruptive to clinical workflows and may also support clinicians and clinical shortages with easily accessed digital patient education that is always available onscreen.
Linc360 works because Lincata’s CIDE seamlessly connects a patient’s specific care needs, directly from the EHR, and well as a Health System’s vertical services such as appointment follow up and onsite RX, onto the TV giving the patient time to digest and act on that information during that 85% of screen time. The logic continues, if a “Assist & Arrange” and “Discharge Teaching Intervention” were incrementally moved up in the timeline into the room and on a dynamic screen, then Lincata’s digital in-room experience would increase the odds of creating Activated Patients and thus better outcomes… all while providing an excellent entertainment experience.
The Final Hurdle
As previously discussed, Health Systems are well into their investment of Digital Transformation and implementing another tool another time can appear overwhelming. According to McKinsey, the largest barrier to executing Digital Transformation is ‘Upgrading Legacy Systems’5 and existing in-room TV screens can certainly seem like a legacy item.
This is where Lincata’s CIDE, Linc360, provides the additional advantage. Linc360 is screen-adaptive and can be as simple a plugging in your favorite streaming device, one room at a time. The integration advantages are simple:
Linc360 offers a near out-of-the-box design, layout, and integration experience.
Linc360’s modularity allows Health Systems to create the ideal patient interaction, in-room digital tool.
Linc360 offers excellence in entertainment from local channels to streaming options that are patient-driven.
And most importantly, Linc360 drives the digital handshake opportunity to guide patients through a fully connected experience before, during and after treatment, enhancing all other digital engagement transformation investments.
Streaming devices have set the standard for digital screen interaction and Linc360 unites both streaming advantages and healthcare workflows into a simple, focused design.
When every Health System is looking for ways to increase better outcomes without a technological overhaul, Lincata may just be the solution.
When patients are in-room,
screen time is a good thing.
Sources
About Lincata
Lincata is the connected in-room digital experience that intelligently connects your hospital's existing in-room TVs to your services and digital strategy for the purposes of increasing revenue, reducing readmissions, and delivering quality outcomes. By linking patient data with coordinated clinical services and relevant patient education content on screen, the Lincata system increases loyalty to your health system with patients at the best possible time: when patients are focused on in-room screens, managing their care, and physically present to understand the next steps in their health continuum. Lincata's European division is Lincor, whose products have been used for more than a decade by more than 90 hospitals around the globe.