Whether it’s for an elective cosmetic procedure or a lifesaving complex surgery, going under the knife is stressful and scary for a patient. Fortunately, there are small things that practice can do to alleviate those feelings of stress and make the patient feel cared for.
Surgimate Practice was developed to make life easier for practice managers, schedulers, and surgeons. But the benefits of greater convenience and efficiency ripple down to the patients as well.
Read on for the five ways our customers have improved patient care using Surgimate Practice.
Customized Patient Letters
When a patient is told during a consultation that they need surgery, there is a lot of additional information that they need to absorb. This includes:
- Pre-op protocols and instructions
- Insurance and payment information
- Potential risks
- Details about follow-up care
The list goes on.
Highlighting one of the major benefits of Surgimate Practice, Ren Yocum of Western Orthopaedics in Denver, CO explained, “With Surgimate Practice, we are able to automatically generate customized patient letters that are clear and organized. This has significantly improved the patient experience and projects a more professional image.”
Within the Surgimate Practice platform, it’s simple to generate customized letters that lay out all of the details relating to the patient’s forthcoming surgery. The patient can take the letter home to read at their leisure and can refer to it to answer any questions that arise leading up to the surgery date.
Cindy Labreck, surgical scheduler at OrthoNY in Albany, NY, reported that when “patients leave the office with all surgical details organized and neatly listed for them, it has improved their overall surgery experience and patient care.”
With just a few clicks, a customized patient letter can be generated out of Surgimate Practice providing much-needed peace of mind for patients.
More Time for Patient Care
Imagine suddenly having 50% more time in your day. That’s exactly what’s happened to Vicki Forbes, head surgical scheduler at The Centers for Advanced Orthopedics, Robinwood Division in Hagerstown, MD, “With Surgimate, we’ve almost halved the time it takes to book a surgery. We now spend that time increasing patient care and generating more business.”
Surgimate automates the scheduling process from A to Z, which means all of the time previously spent on filling out countless forms by hand, manually checking and updating calendars, and shuffling through folders looking for authorizations is now free to spend on patients.
Patients appreciate the surgical practice staff who take the time to explain procedures and answer questions, making them feel more comfortable and secure both pre and post-surgery.
According to Rhodora Silang of Pediatric Ophthalmic Consultants in New York City, NY, “thanks to Surgimate, we spend more time on patient care instead of menial tasks!” That is a true win-win for all involved.
Instant Access to Patient Information
It’s not surprising that patients have questions and concerns regarding their surgery. Even if they’ve been given a customized letter with all the details, they may still have additional questions. And, in a busy practice, patients may not always speak to the same person each time they call.
When a practice uses Surgimate, any staff member can pull up a patient record in seconds and get all the information they need. So, it doesn’t matter who answers the phone, the patient does not have to repeat their entire history in order to get their questions answered.
For The CORE Institute in Arizona and Michigan, the transparency provided by Surgimate is key. According to Jen Purslow, Executive VP Revenue Cycle and Patient Access, “All patient needs are addressed within minutes of speaking with the patient. Our schedulers cannot imagine life without Surgimate. The level of care coordination is now unsurpassed, and all data around the surgery is stored in one location.”
Uniform Workflow – No More Inconsistencies
In addition to offering full transparency, practices that use Surgimate also have a unified workflow. This means that every staff member follows the exact same process when scheduling a new surgery.
So, if a scheduler is out sick or on vacation while a patient is still in the midst of finalizing surgery details, any other staff member can easily step in and continue the process. The patient receives a seamless experience, and no small details fall between the cracks.
Donna Gesell, Clinical Director at OrthoNC in Raleigh, NC, raves about the changes Surgimate has brought to the office, “Surgimate has made our scheduling extremely transparent. If one scheduler is out, any other scheduler can step in.”
For very large practices with multiple schedulers and hundreds of surgeries being scheduled at any given time, Surgimate is a complete gamechanger.
Happy Patients, Happy Practice
Patient care is always a top priority of surgical practice, but sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the nitty-gritty scheduling details and forget that there’s a human being on the other end of the line. They’re dealing with the emotional side of undergoing surgery.
When you are able to streamline the entire scheduling process, you’ll free up time and energy that can be redirected to the patient. That extra five minutes on the phone explaining follow-up care (or any other topic) to a nervous patient might not feel like a big deal to you, but it can make a huge difference in the patient’s perception and feelings of being well cared for.
Don’t just take our word for it – listen to our clients, like Wendie Hames of Connecticut Orthopaedics in New Haven, CT, “We are extremely happy with Surgimate. It has really changed the way we do everything. We are more efficient and our patient care has improved considerably.”
