Pediatric Hospital Improves Patient Engagement with Text Outreach

As Indiana’s first and largest comprehensive pediatric system, this world-class children’s healthcare network is committed to advancing the health and well-being of every child through care delivery, education and research innovation.

CHALLENGE

Dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for children and families across the care continuum, leaders recognized the opportunity to meet patients where they are by guiding families through care transitions. While leveraging CipherHealth’s proactive outreach technology to conduct automated telephonic post-discharge calls, the pediatric healthcare network saw the opportunity to utilize additional communication methods to expand their reach of patients and families upon discharge from ED and inpatient settings.

SOLUTION

In December 2016, the network integrated SMS text messages into existing postdischarge outreach efforts. With CipherHealth’s outreach technology, 100% of pediatric patients receive telephonic outreach upon discharge. Patients who do not respond to calls receive additional post-discharge follow up via SMS text messages, ensuring that families who were previously unreached receive the support they need in the critical postdischarge period.

RESULTS

By increasing the scope of the outreach program with multiple communication methods, the pediatric system improved reach rates by more than 46% for their ED and inpatient populations as measured over four months pre- and post-implementation. By reaching more patients post-discharge, CipherHealth empowered the network to deliver best-in-class care and reduce the likelihood of adverse events, such as avoidable readmissions.

Patients Reached by CipherOutreach for Post-Discharge Follow Up: Pre- and Post- Addition of SMS Text Messages

PROFILE: Indiana-Based Pediatric Health System, PRODUCT: Post-Discharge Follow Up, PROGRAM: Pediatric Follow Up, DATA PERIOD: Aug 2016 – Apr 2017