In today’s healthcare landscape, the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model is revolutionizing patient care by focusing on comprehensive, coordinated, and accessible care that prioritizes the patient’s needs. This approach transforms primary care practices into hubs of patient-centric health management, fostering better health outcomes and enhanced patient satisfaction. 

What is a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH)?

A PCMH is a care delivery model where a patient’s primary care provider leads a team of healthcare professionals to provide comprehensive, coordinated, and accessible care. This model emphasizes long-term, collaborative relationships between patients and their care teams, ensuring that all of a patient’s health needs are met efficiently and effectively. 

Evolution of the Patient-Centered Medical Home Concept

The PCMH concept has evolved significantly since its inception. Initially introduced in the 1960s by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the model aimed to provide better-coordinated care for children with chronic conditions. Over the decades, the concept expanded to include all patient populations, driven by the growing need for more efficient, patient-centered care systems. Today, the PCMH model is recognized as a cornerstone of primary care reform, promoting better health outcomes and enhanced patient satisfaction. 

Understanding the Core Principles of the PCMH Model

The PCMH model is built on five core principles:

1. Comprehensive Care:

Addressing a wide range of patient health needs with a diverse team of care providers.

2. Patient-Centered:

Building strong, ongoing relationships with patients, respecting their individual preferences and needs.

3. Coordinated Care:

Ensuring seamless integration across all elements of the healthcare system.

4. Accessible Services:

Providing flexible and timely access to care.

5. Quality and Safety:

Committing to continuous quality improvement and patient safety.

Benefits of Implementing the PCMH Model in Healthcare Settings

Implementing the PCMH model offers numerous benefits, including:

• Improved Health Outcomes: Comprehensive, coordinated care leads to better management of chronic conditions and preventive care, reducing hospitalizations and emergency visits. The PCMH model has been shown to help better manage patients’ chronic conditions, such as diabetes.
• Enhanced Patient Satisfaction: Patient-centered care fosters stronger relationships between patients and providers, leading to higher levels of trust and satisfaction.
• Cost Savings: By reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and improving efficiency, the PCMH model can lower healthcare costs. One study found PCMH Recognition was associated with $265 lower average annual total Medicare spend per beneficiary, lower hospital spending and fewer emergency department visits.
• Better Access to Care: Extended hours, same-day appointments, and 24/7 electronic access ensure that patients receive the care they need when they need it.

Key Components of a Successful PCMH Program

A successful PCMH program includes several key components:

• A Strong Care Team: Including physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, social workers, educators, and care coordinators.
• Patient Engagement: Actively involving patients in their care, respecting their preferences, and providing education to help them manage their health.
• Care Coordination: Ensuring seamless transitions between different care settings and clear communication among all team members.
• Health Information Technology: Utilizing electronic health records (EHRs) and other technology to streamline care processes and improve patient outcomes.
• Quality Improvement: Continuously measuring performance and implementing strategies to enhance care quality and safety.

Assessing the Impact of PCMH on Patient Outcomes

Studies have shown that the PCMH model positively impacts patient outcomes. For instance:

• Reduced Hospitalizations: PCMHs help manage chronic conditions more effectively, leading to fewer hospital admissions.
• Improved Preventive Care: Comprehensive care teams ensure patients receive necessary preventive services, such as vaccinations and screenings. One study found PCMHs patients had 77.5 more primary care visits and 17.3 fewer ambulatory-care sensitive specialist visits per 1,000 patients per month.
• Enhanced Patient Experience: Patients report higher satisfaction due to the personalized, coordinated care they receive in a PCMH setting. A Hartford Foundation study found that the PCMH model resulted in a better experience for patients, with 83% of patients saying being treated in a PCMH improved health.

Best Practices for Implementing the PCMH Model in Primary Care

Successfully implementing the PCMH model requires adopting best practices, such as:

• Engaging Leadership: Strong leadership is crucial to driving the cultural and operational changes needed for PCMH transformation.
• Investing in Technology: Robust health information technology infrastructure supports coordinated care and quality improvement efforts.
• Fostering Team-Based Care: Building effective care teams with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
• Focusing on Patient Engagement: Encouraging patients to actively participate in their care and providing them with the tools and resources to do so.
• Continuous Quality Improvement: Regularly assessing performance and implementing changes to improve care quality and outcomes.

How Feedtrail Can Support the PCMH Model

Feedtrail’s innovative real-time surveying and engagement platform can significantly enhance the five key functions and attributes of the PCMH model:

1. Comprehensive Care

Feedtrail’s flexible surveying tools enable PCMHs to gather detailed feedback on various aspects of care, from preventive services to chronic disease management. This data helps care teams identify gaps and opportunities for improvement, ensuring comprehensive care delivery.

2. Patient-Centered

With Feedtrail, PCMHs can capture patients’ preferences, values, and cultural contexts through personalized surveys. This information allows care teams to tailor care plans to individual patients, fostering a more patient-centered approach.

3. Coordinated Care

Feedtrail facilitates seamless communication among care team members by providing real-time feedback on patient experiences. This feedback loop enhances coordination and ensures that all team members are aligned in their care strategies.

4. Accessible Services

By using Feedtrail’s platform, PCMHs can monitor and respond to patient access issues promptly. Real-time feedback on wait times, appointment availability, and communication channels allows practices to make immediate adjustments, improving accessibility.

5. Quality and Safety

Feedtrail supports PCMHs in their commitment to quality and safety by offering robust tools for tracking patient satisfaction and identifying areas for improvement. The platform’s analytics capabilities provide actionable insights, helping PCMHs continuously enhance their care practices.

Wrapping Up

The Patient-Centered Medical Home model represents a significant shift towards more comprehensive, patient-centered, and coordinated care. By adopting this model, healthcare providers can improve patient outcomes, enhance satisfaction, and reduce costs. Feedtrail’s real-time surveying and engagement platform offers valuable support in achieving the core principles of the PCMH model and Feedtrail supports many organizations that utilize the PCMH model.

For healthcare providers looking to transform their practice into a PCMH, Feedtrail provides the tools, personalization, and real-time insights needed to succeed. Want to see the platform in action? Watch a short product tour here.

From April 18-19, 2024, healthcare professionals converged at the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) in Asheville, NC, for Feedtrail’s Community Health Patient Experience Summit. This two-day event brought together industry leaders, experts, and practitioners to explore innovative strategies for improving patient experiences in community health settings.

Community Health Patient Experience Summit Takeaways:

Speaker and attendee insights, combined with collaborative discussions and interactive sessions, made the Community Health Patient Experience Summit a resounding success. Let’s delve into the wealth of insights and actionable tips gleaned from the summit’s sessions to help community health centers and FQHCs improve their patient experience, business, and community initiatives:

Fostering Patient Engagement

In community health, patients often seek care out of necessity rather than choice. To shift this, it’s crucial to explore ways to make the patient experience more engaging, inclusive, and personalized. Strategies discussed included:

• Focus on Key Drivers:

  Instead of overwhelming staff with numerous patient experience initiatives, focus on 2-3 key drivers of patient experience to align efforts and drive meaningful change.

• Tie Data to Interventions:

  Aligning survey questions with specific improvement interventions enables organizations to track progress and demonstrate the impact of their initiatives, instead of boiling the ocean with questions just to check a box.

• Small Gestures, Big Impact:

  Empower frontline staff to set the tone for a positive interaction. One organization gives frontline staff small mirrors so they can see their facial expressions while interacting with patients- an easy and cost-effective way to make a significant difference in patient perceptions.

Improving Health Equity

A cornerstone of improving patient experiences lies in understanding and addressing health equity issues. By recognizing the unique obstacles and needs of different patient populations, healthcare providers can tailor their services accordingly. Integrating equity considerations into organizational policies, practices, and programs is crucial for addressing systemic inequities and improving patient outcomes. Key takeaways include:

• Collect Demographic Information:

  Front desk staff play a vital role in improving data collection, by helping staff understand the importance and “why” behind collecting demographic information you can improve accurate data entry.

• Set SMARTIE Goals:

  By adding “Inclusivity” and “Equity” into SMART goal-setting processes, organizations ensure that interventions consider the diverse needs of all stakeholders and mitigate any potential disparate impacts.

• Utilize Feedtrail’s SDoH Tool:

  Leveraging technology, such as Feedtrail, to complete the PREPARE screening tool, enables healthcare organizations to gather crucial data on patients’ social and economic factors, informing more targeted care strategies.

Leveraging Patient Experience Data

Effective measurement of patient experience is essential for driving improvement initiatives. Key insights and best practices shared during the summit include: 

• Establish Patient Experience KPIs:

  Organizations emphasized the importance of benchmarking patient satisfaction, analyzing feedback by population segments, and presenting positive and negative patient feedback comprehensively to inform decision-making.

• Survey Design:

  Survey questions should be purposeful, actionable, and tied to specific improvement interventions. It’s crucial to regularly evaluate and refine survey questions regularly to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

• Innovative Survey Methods:

  For remote clinics or underserved populations, innovative survey methods such as using tablets in offices can facilitate data collection and improve response rates. Organizations that serve the homeless also noted an increase in smart phone usage among this population and that they greatly appreciated care reminder messages.

Getting the Organization Onboard

Securing organizational buy-in is essential for the successful implementation of patient experience initiatives. Key tactics for getting the organization onboard at community health centers include:

• Share Patient Stories:

  Sharing patient stories, especially in-person or videos, with staff and leadership fosters empathy and reinforces the importance of patient-centered care and the impact of their work.

• Audience-Specific Communication:

  Tailoring patient experience data sharing to different audiences—physicians, front desk staff, leadership, the board, etc.—ensures relevance and promotes engagement across the organization.

• Create Scorecards:

  Developing scorecards for department meetings allows healthcare teams to visualize performance metrics that tie to their work, identify areas for improvement, and celebrate success and positive feedback.

Retaining and Attracting Talent

Staff retention is a critical factor in maintaining high-quality patient care. Formal recognition programs and supportive leadership play pivotal roles in cultivating a positive work environment, boosting morale, and enhancing patient-facing care. Actionable steps for creating a culture of recognition include:

• Recognition Programs:

  Implementing formal recognition programs, championed by leadership, boosts morale and fosters a culture of appreciation. Additionally taking the time to understand individual recognition preferences, such as public acknowledgment or taking on new responsibilities, personalizes recognition and boosts the impact.

• Feedtrail Friday Newsletters:

  Sharing patient recognition stories through internal communications, such as Feedtrail Friday newsletters, celebrates staff achievements and promotes a sense of pride and belonging, while also ensuring the feedback is timely and relevant.

• Employee Engagement:

  Combatting staff turnover requires strategies such as employee pulse surveys, exit interviews, and correlating employee and patient experience scores.

Leadership Engagement

Engaging leadership in patient experience is an essential piece of motivating staff across the organization and ensuring successful initiatives. Some takeaways around leadership engagement were:

• Leadership at PFACs:

  Invite senior leaders to participate in Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) meetings to share what the community means to them and why they’re inspired to work in community health.

• Lead with Data:

  Participants agreed, the best way to garner leadership buy-in and support for new patient experience initiatives or investments was to lead with data and make a business case.

• Leadership Rounding:

  Starting leadership rounds with positive feedback sets a supportive tone and reinforces desired behaviors among staff.

Community Health Patient Experience Summit Overview

The Summit agenda featured speakers from prominent organizations, community health centers, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across the healthcare landscape, each bringing unique perspectives and expertise to the table:

• The summit commenced with a warm welcome from Dr. William R. Hathaway, MD, FACC, Chief Executive Officer of MAHEC, setting the stage for insightful discussions and collaborative learning.
• Tamiko Ambrose Murray, MSW, and Marisol Jiménez, MSW, from Spiral Path Consulting, delivered a thought-provoking keynote on integrating an equity lens into healthcare practices. Drawing from their expertise, they shared language and a framework for understanding and addressing the root causes of health inequities.
• Moderated by Paul Jaglowski, Chief Strategy Officer at Feedtrail, a panel on the ROI of patient experience featured Karen Cagle, COO of Little River Medical Center, Alice Pollard, MSW, MSPH, VP of Operations and Strategy at NCCHCA, and Toni Land, MBA, BSN, CPXP, Founder and Chief Patient Experience Officer at Landing Exceptional Experiences. Together, they explored the tangible returns on investment achieved through prioritizing patient experiences and shared insights into linking patient satisfaction with quality and financial outcomes.
• Felicia Hipp, Director of Organizational Effectiveness at Blue Ridge Health, and Tena Barnes Carraher, Co-Founder and VP of Marketing and Communications at The DAISY Foundation, discussed how to build a culture of recognition to retain and attract talent and get leadership involved.
• Nikki Garcia, CPXP, Patient Experience Officer, Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) and Nikki Angeli, MHA, BSN, RN, CPHQ, CPXP, Patient Experience Strategist at Feedtrail, shared how to set, track, and share patient experience KPIs, building the foundation for a program that thrives on data insights.
• Spiral Path Consulting facilitated a breakout session helping attendees understand trauma responses in themselves and others to strengthen their connection and interactions with patients, staff, and themselves,
• Sarah Barry, Patient Advocate at Maury Regional Health, uncovered ways to build a 360-degree approach to patient experience improvement and engagement by involving all stakeholders, including families and staff, in the process.
• Deb Woods, Chief Operating Officer at Feedtrail, and Paul Jaglowski, Chief Strategy Officer at Feedtrail, closed out the Summit by sharing recent and upcoming innovations from Feedtrail. Attendees heard about XM Insights, Feedtrail’s new advanced BI and Analytics platform that bubbles up insights and pinpoints areas and demographics to focus on, and how AI is continuing to be built into the platform to direct improvements and remove administrative work.

The Community Health Patient Experience Summit provided a wealth of insights and actionable strategies for healthcare organizations committed to enhancing patient experiences. Attendees appreciated connecting with peers that were working with similar resource restraints and patient populations. By effectively leveraging patient experience data, prioritizing health equity, securing organizational buy-in, and investing in staff recognition efforts, healthcare providers can create environments that prioritize patient-centered care and foster positive outcomes for community health centers.

Learn more about how Feedtrail helps Community Health Centers improve the patient experience.

Those of us in the healthcare space strive to fine-tune our processes and operations in the pursuit of better outcomes, constantly looking for ways to improve the safety and quality of care. The downside of such a strong focus on results is that other important factors — like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) — often don’t get the attention they deserve.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a sea change, opening many people’s eyes to the limitations of our hospitals and clinics — from the lack of an ability to address care disparities driven by racial residential segregation to adverse health outcomes among Black women, who were more at risk for job loss and food insecurity, two important factors in the social determinants of health.

Since 2020, many organizations have made significant investments in resources for those who encounter barriers to receiving quality care, but how do healthcare leaders ensure they’re distributing those resources fairly, and that they’re meeting the most pressing needs of the populations they serve? Where do they turn to increase access, improve outcomes, and ensure patients feel seen, heard, and supported — regardless of their ethnicity, faith, race, immigration status, or anything else that might hold them back from getting the care they deserve?

One key piece of the puzzle is personalized outreach and surveys that produce unique and timely insights, set staff and clinicians up for vital and lasting change, and show patients that their needs are your priority.

“One Size Fits All” Doesn’t Work

For too long, the surveying and patient engagement landscape was “one size fits all.” Patients would get the same questionnaire whether they came in for a behavioral health appointment, childbirth, or an emergency department visit.

It sounds sort of crazy. And it is – but not just because those experiences represent different types of care. Patient engagement and satisfaction efforts have also historically shown a lack of recognition of the varying perspectives that individual patients bring to the table.

When I take my son to the pediatrician, for example, I notice things my wife doesn’t, and she notices things I don’t. We all go to our doctors with different perceptions, preferences, and cultural backgrounds. Patients want awareness of this and to be treated like individuals, not numbers – look no further than the many articles and surveys that report a common desire for better one-to-one patient/provider relationships and genuine empathy and connection – ideals that have proven difficult to achieve due to staffing shortages.

Patients need to know their healthcare providers care about and take into account their opinions and preferences. Once a patient feels acknowledged and supported, the qualitative insights you can glean are remarkable. It opens the doors of communication much wider, offering patients and families a forum to share their experiences (or what they prefer to experience) candidly and conveniently. It’s an incredibly powerful way for patients and their families to make their voices heard, it’s how we improve diversity and inclusion, and it’s how we can work toward real equity in healthcare.

Going Beyond Patient Experience

 In practice, healthcare equity is about being intentional with outreach — beyond simply inquiring about an individual’s experience or reminding them of an upcoming appointment, asking subjective questions builds trust and a stronger connection with your organization. But ultimately, it’s about educating patients so they’re equipped to get the healthcare they need in the most convenient way and helping them to achieve better health outcomes that will last long after a clinic visit or a hospital stay.

Private and public resources — whether available through support communities or corporate initiatives — can be invaluable to patients. So in addition to surveys, healthcare providers should identify a patient engagement solution that connects their patients with useful and relevant resources. Letting patients know about the availability of rides to get to their appointments, free childcare at the facility, or the option for telehealth visits goes a long way to removing barriers to inclusion.

There’s a Platform For That

Feedtrail clients use our XM platform for all kinds of outreach and engagement as well as measuring patient satisfaction with real-time, convenient digital surveys (instead of cumbersome paper versions sent after healthcare visits). For example, a hospital can send text-message-based surveys while a patient or their family is still on site, with the questions and prompts you might expect:

• How was your overall experience?
• Did your provider listen to you?
• Please rate your check-in experience.

 But many clients go beyond these broader questions and dive deeper with prompts like:

• How comfortable did you feel being your authentic self in our care?
• Did you face any barriers in scheduling or making it to your appointment?
• Did you feel like your cultural background and beliefs were respected and valued during your visit?

These questions reveal much more than generic ratings ever could and let patients know their provider takes their individual needs and personal belief systems into consideration. This ultimately increases patients’ confidence in your providers and the care received, forming the cornerstone for healthcare equity.

Equity-focused surveys help healthcare organizations transform the way they care for patients by understanding what makes a truly exceptional experience, what resources or support services patients have been missing, and what they can do to improve scores in specific areas.

The Feedtrail platform further helps organizations develop a culture of celebration by easily highlighting and acknowledging behavior, achievements, and customer use cases that are in line with their core values. When an organization decides to prioritize DEI, Feedtrail makes sure everyone on the team can feel and appreciate those efforts.

Get more DEI-related survey questions for your patients and workforce:

Access our free survey templates

Ensuring Equitable Care for All

Health equity is a multifaceted challenge. Achieving it includes welcoming and accepting people from historically marginalized communities, who often haven’t felt seen and heard in this way, fostering awareness of and helping to reduce the barriers they encounter, doing the hard work of evaluating where you have gaps in care delivery that adversely impact specific demographics, and committing to real change.

By monitoring patients’ and families’ perspectives on their healthcare visits and hospital stays — as well as their comfort with the accessibility of care — Feedtrail aims to help our clients better understand and engage with all patients. At the same time, we want to empower thoughtful development of community health programs and the resources that support them, all in pursuit of quality, accessible care for all.

What can Feedtrail’s platform help your healthcare organization achieve? Request a demo today.

Very little is easy about running a healthcare facility, especially at federally qualified healthcare centers (FQHCs) and community health centers (CHCs), where the needs of the marginalized populations served are diverse and numerous barriers exist to quality care. Challenging? Definitely. Overwhelming? Staff and clinicians would say so, with a recent study finding that four in five physicians don’t feel confident in their capacity to meet their patients’ social needs.

Improving patient experience for individuals in underserved demographics is, of course, not simple or linear – it’s a multilayered responsibility involving education, communication, and ongoing community and patient engagement. But facilities can more effectively influence positive change by assuring that providers are routinely considering the 5 social determinants of health in care delivery and that their patient experience manager or functional leader is weighing regular patient feedback as they take targeted actions to increase equal access – all leading to better outcomes, healthier communities, and more satisfied and loyal patients walking through your doors.

The 5 Social Determinants of Health

Central to improving patient experience are the social determinants of health (SDOH), which, according to the World Health Organization, are “the nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes. They’re the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.” Though widely familiar to FQHCs and CHCs due to their strong influence on healthcare delivery among marginalized communities, they’re highly complicated and often interdependent on each other, requiring review when receiving patients and consideration in patient survey questions. Here’s a quick examination of the 5 social determinants of health and their complexity:

1. Economic Stability

Determining how economically stable a person is goes beyond how much money they have, though that’s obviously important. 2022 U.S. census data shows that 11.5% of Americans live in poverty, or nearly 38 million people, with many unable to afford healthcare insurance. Steady employment can provide insurance; however, it doesn’t always supply sufficient income, so workers can still lack the resources to live healthfully.

Food and housing insecurity are also factors in economic stability. Low-income neighborhoods may not have nutritious food available or exist far from supermarkets, driving up prices on healthy items. Individuals and families may also spend the bulk of their income on rent, be forced into dangerous housing, be evicted, or be denied housing altogether. It’s critically important to consider how these factors may not only lead to negative health effects, but also how they influence patient behaviors.

2. Education Access and Quality

The impact of a strong education or lack thereof is directly tied to one’s health: Those who attain a bachelor’s degree tend to live longer. But the level of education completed isn’t a standalone measure in determining how schooling affects health; the quality of one’s education is also critical to what the individual can do with what they learn and how they establish their lifestyle, and together these factors influence other SDOHs.

Without the right knowledge and skills, for example, a graduate can’t secure the job and income they need, which can lead to a less-than-ideal living situation and limit their access to healthcare. Depending on the neighborhood they can afford, their children may experience the pitfalls of underfunded education that stunt their own development, creating an endless cycle of poor health. Understanding these generational issues is just as important as genetic history.

3. Neighborhood and Built Environment

One’s neighborhood can in part determine food security, but there are larger implications to where someone lives for overall health and safety. In some neighborhoods, building overcrowding is common and can expose unwitting tenants to harmful toxins and infectious diseases. Water quality and pollution pose threats, as do crime and violence, most worryingly for children. Poorly constructed or maintained “built environments” – inclusive of manufactured structures like sidewalks, playgrounds, and green space – present additional safety and livability challenges, which need to be studied at the community level.

4. Healthcare Access and Quality

There are multiple reasons why someone may not receive the care they need, with the most common being no insurance, lack of primary care provider options, high out-of-pocket costs, and the absence of physical access, such as transportation (personal vehicle or public transit). Skipping appointments can lower life expectancy and lead to higher costs down the line when treatment is unavoidable. When improving patient experience, facilities must investigate the reasons for why patients don’t make it to visits and follow up with steps to improve access.

5. Social and Community Context

Relationships with family, friends, and co-workers play a significant role in one’s health and well-being, particularly when there’s cohesion and connectedness among community members. That unity helps people overcome challenges and dangers outside of their control, such as unsafe neighborhoods, bias, and lack of personal resources, all potentially damaging to one’s health. Key factors include social cohesion, civic participation, discrimination/inequality, and incarceration, all of which FQHCs and CHCs can support with programs that help efforts to combat inequity.

Supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Healthcare

Understanding the 5 social determinants of health is just one building block for improving patient experience. To promote true diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare that helps lead to better patient reviews and retention, a patient experience manager should implement efforts such as:

• Consistent SDOH screenings and data collection. While most FQHCs – 71% – collect SDOH data, many in the South don’t, according to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Screening can allow these facilities to identify patients’ social needs and help address them, and the questions from these screening tools make an impactful addition to your customizable patient surveys.
• Programs to promote empowerment. While meeting patients’ social needs can feel overwhelming, facilities can build trust and strength in their communities by promoting civic engagement – offering information on local elections, voter registration, and forums for discussion. They can counter disempowerment narratives and promote social cohesion with support for and education on issues like immigrant rights and the criminal justice system.
• Health literacy training for clinicians. It can be difficult for doctors to understand their patients’ lack of health literacy (HL), defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.” Limited health literacy (LHL) is associated with SDOHs like low education level and income, as well as ethnic minority status, and can lead to increased hospitalization rates, disease development, and higher mortality. In high-volume clinics, brief training is recommended to educate providers on LHL’s prevalence and impact, help assess HL, and provide guidance on communicating with patients with LHL.
• Real-time surveying. The funding that keeps comprehensive care available to underserved and uninsured populations hinges on positive outcomes and improving patient experience scores, so what you don’t know about your patients can literally hurt you – and them. In time- and resource-strapped facilities, it’s essential to use digital surveying methods to get real-time input on the challenges your patients face – before it’s too late to course-correct. Surveys should be conducted before, during, and after visits to capture the full scope of needs, and cover domains related to SDOH such as social connections and isolation, literacy/learning style, transportation, discrimination, and stress. Sample questions might include:
  • How hard is it for you to pay for basic food, housing, medical care, and air conditioning and heating?
  • Do you have access to a variety of food, including fruits and vegetables?
  • Has a lack of transportation kept you from medical appointments or from getting medications?
  • How often do you feel lonely or isolated from those around you?

Choosing a Partner to Help Your Patient Experience Manager

With our XM Platform, Feedtrail makes improving patient experience simple, allowing you to gather timely patient feedback, instantly share input that needs to be addressed, and seamlessly direct happy patients to leave reviews on your preferred site. The platform’s easy customizability is tailored to the needs of FQHCs, CHCs, and physician practices whose staff are pulled in many directions but are invested in delivering the best possible care to all patients. To learn more, book a demo today.

About Mallory Magelli McKeown, Customer Success: Meet Mallory, a healthcare professional dedicated to improving the patient experience. With a background in roles like chaplain and family advocate, Mallory’s mission is simplifying healthcare for patients and families. From advisory councils to patient advocacy, she amplifies the patient’s voice. At Feedtrail, she redefines the patient-provider relationship, asking vital questions to guide healthcare leaders toward patient-centered changes. Her goal: revolutionizing healthcare by putting patients’ needs first.

Running a federally qualified health center (FQHC) or community health center (CHC) can be an exhausting and thankless job. Sometimes you may feel like an outdated phone operating on a battery that drains too fast: As you endeavor to serve community needs, offer more programs, and meet various requirements for reporting and care delivery, you can almost sense the mental energy and resources being sapped at an alarming rate.

Luckily, when met through thoughtful surveying, some of those FQHC requirements can help you recharge your patient experience strategy and improve clinical and organizational outcomes more quickly.  

It all starts with understanding how to make the most of these requirements. Healthcare survey initiatives shouldn’t be seen as something you design to fulfill an obligation and eventually use to spur improvements in some big, grand push.

Instead see patient feedback surveys as an opportunity to continually review your patients’ specific issues and resolve them in real time – thus enhancing patient satisfaction, retention, and referrals. 

The Current Landscape for Maintaining Compliance

Compliance obligations begin and end with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the overseer of FQHCs and CHCs. HRSA outlines the standards all centers must meet to receive federal funding and provide comprehensive, quality care to the communities they serve.

Alongside its bevy of guidelines and regulations are steps facilities must take if they wish to secure ambulatory healthcare accreditation through The Joint Commission or the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and/or patient-centered medical home (PCMH) recognition via the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).  

Leaders need to make smart decisions on how they create and distribute the patient surveys necessary to comply with HRSA rules or attain certifications. They should also be up to date on the Data Modernization Initiative currently underway at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which aims to modernize core data and surveillance infrastructure across federal and state public health facilities. 

Though specific healthcare survey regulations may vary by agency, HRSA’s FQHC requirements center around having an ongoing quality improvement/assurance (QI/QA) system including clinical services and management. As they build these systems, organizational leaders must put foundational structure in place, ensure patient data confidentiality, and conduct assessments (at least quarterly) on patient satisfaction and experience. Similarly, patient surveys are required for ambulatory care accreditation and PCMH recognition. 

Unlocking the Value of the Real-Time Healthcare Survey

When conducted effectively, these assessments inform and guide the mission of the FQHC or CHC and are an integral driver of patient experience initiatives, but they must be supported by regular listening to patients and paired with tools for rapid service recovery and sustained quality improvement.  

Why? Analyses and studies have shown that patient surveys have broadly had mixed results when resources are not regularly dedicated to outstanding patient concerns and staff and providers don’t work nimbly to tackle them. Operational and survey-specific factors like the complexity of defining patient experience, delays or lack of transparency in information sharing, and a focus on quantitative survey measures have made it challenging to align with patients on what they need to have a positive care experience. 

Across the board, what regulatory bodies are looking for is a commitment to continuous quality improvement. And continuous improvement can only happen when patients are surveyed often, producing fresh insights that the healthcare organization then readily acts upon. What this means for meeting FQHC requirements is that your surveys need to include questions about critical moments and interactions within the patient journey. Some typical points of focus include: 

• Getting access to care, regardless of ability to pay 
• Communicating with providers 
• Receiving culturally and linguistically competent care 
• Having acceptable wait times 
• Scheduling appointments 

For FQHCs and CHCs seeking PCMH recognition, there are additional patient experience measurements to consider, since those centers’ aim is to become comprehensive and patient-centric healthcare homes. Candidates must regularly track and report on the above items as well as other aspects of care like patient and caregiver engagement, care continuity, and care management. 

By getting instant feedback on these items and practicing fast service recovery when needed, healthcare leaders can identify which solutions are effective as problems arise and which should be adapted for systemic change. All of this can help on the path to higher patient satisfaction and net promoter scores (NPS). 

Implementing Digital-First Feedback on Both Sides of the Care Equation

Regardless of which specific healthcare survey efforts they must undertake, all FQHCs and CHCs should survey patients before, during, and after a care event. Instead of relying on post-discharge queries that are often ignored by patients or revisited too late to paint an accurate picture of the patient’s experience, leaders need to shift their attention to digital pulse surveys. 

By using real-time PX technology to deliver these surveys, healthcare organizations can personalize care to the communities they serve and therefore ask about and address the unique challenges often faced by underserved populations, like lack of transportation to appointments and poor access to educational resources that explain symptoms, conditions, and treatment plans. They can further ensure that the programs they develop are appropriate for their target audience, communicated effectively to that audience, and well-attended or utilized so personnel and resources are used wisely. 

Embracing FQHC requirements and experience initiatives means far more than looking solely through the patient lens, however. Positive feedback about providers can be a reference point for adjusting workplace best practices as well as a great motivator and morale booster for individual clinicians. Happier nurses, physicians, and staff contribute to better care and stronger relationships with patients.  

By engaging in real time with employees and managing their experience via pulse surveying, 360-degree feedback, and regular reviews, healthcare organizations can also collect helpful internal feedback to strengthen the human connection with their staff. These efforts contribute to improving an organization’s culture and allow clinicians to flourish as care providers while their own needs are addressed. As staffing shortages and burnout continue to plague the industry, these are all critical factors in securing and renewing patient trust. 

Tying it all Together: Achieving True Change with Technology 

Collecting actionable feedback to fulfill FQHC requirements is a core responsibility of every healthcare organization – but it also represents a key opportunity. Capitalizing on it to make swift adjustments and changes to the way you deliver care and treat patients (both medically and personally) largely results in higher levels of retention, better online reviews, and an increase in your NPS or “likelihood to recommend.” Learning in the moment also allows for immediate service recovery opportunities so you’re fixing experiences before complaints pop up in online reviews, and comprehensive data can support efforts to improve public health at a broader level, like the Data Modernization Initiative

Deliberate, effective patient and employee experience initiatives can truly make all the difference for FQHCs and CHCs. With Feedtrail’s XM platform, you can automate the sending of personalized surveys and messages via text or email at key moments in the patient journey, communicate in real time which team members are handling responses to problems that need attention, and direct satisfied patients to leave an online review on your preferred site, improving and simplifying reputation management. To learn more about our cost-effective solution, reach out today. 

Healthcare consumerism presents benefits to both sides of the care coin. Patients get the opportunity to influence and review their providers. In turn, providers can draw from this feedback to become more responsive and proactive in how they deliver their services.

But with patient experience still seen as a major challenge for the healthcare industry in 2024, it’s clear the healthcare industry has a long way to go in meeting patients’ consumer-centric expectations of care as well as improvingpatient engagement .

That’s where HealthNet Community Health Centers stands out from the crowd. Feedtrail’s leadership recently co-hosted a Health Data Management webinar with HealthNet’s Chief Business Development Officer, Carrie Bonsack, to share best practices and lessons learned on HealthNet’s own path to satisfying patient needs. Below are three takeaways.

1. Digitize and personalize patient surveys to improve engagement

Patient surveys aren’t new. Healthcare providers have been trying to listen to and engage their patients through post-discharge prompts for over 30 years. But with the rise of increasingly digitized healthcare consumerism, what have changed are patients’ preferred communication channels.

HealthNet used to choose one week a quarter to survey its patients, aiming to get 100 responses from each health center. The surveys were on paper, one-size-fits-all, and generated 1,500 responses — a small fraction of its patient base. Additionally, all this data had to be recorded and manually analyzed before any useful insights could be gleaned to inform decision-making.

After HealthNet noticed how much patients enjoyed interacting with their phones — which sometimes even distracted them during exams — the company realized it had to make the entire process more accessible and personalized to change course. It knew it had to leverage SMS messaging.

HealthNet now sends its patients short, engaging surveys via text. With the help of Feedtrail’s platform, it can customize questions and send the surveys in three languages. HealthNet now receives an impressive 19,000 responses per year — all of which are delivered instantaneously into the hands of care team members who can act on them in real time.

This level of responsiveness on the part of a healthcare organization instills a sense of trust in patients, who see that their providers value their input and are committed to meeting their expectations. It also boosts patient engagement and serves as the foundation of a highly beneficial feedback loop. Moving from generic surveys to those that are more personalized makes it possible for providers to drill down and analyze data by location, service line, or provider. This granularity enables increased visibility into the organization and insight into where and how it can do better — essential factors in an effective patient experience program.

Historically, patient feedback has been limited to data collected after discharge. So, naturally, this can contribute to an uptick in patient engagement further along the patient journey.

However, the most effective patient experience programs focus on engagement starting before visits and continuing until after patients are discharged In a July 2022 Patient Experience Maturity Survey administered across thousands of U.S. healthcare organizations of all sizes, Feedtrail found that 68% of organizations said they need to improve their pre-visit engagement, over a third said they could do better during visits, and only 15% felt their post-discharge surveying was actionable.

Some best practices HealthNet discovered for increasing patient engagement at three distinct points of care include:

Pre-visit: Set expectations

When HealthNet started getting a lot of appointment no-shows, it reached out to its patients to learn why. Was it COVID? Childcare? Transportation barriers? The company found that simple communication before a visit went a long way. For instance, construction going on nearby or a change in the location of an appointment could cause stress on the day of a visit. Discussing factors like these with patients reduced anxiety and helped them feel supported — encouraging them to show up in the right place at the right time.

During the visit: Manage expectations

It’s paramount to ensure that patients feel welcome and accustomed to current processes and procedures. Several Feedtrail customers have found that an SMS welcome message puts patients at ease as soon as they walk through the door, while text correspondences about doctors who might be running behind schedule reduce frustration and increase senses of trust and transparency.

Post-visit: Exceed expectations

Patients often aren’t in the right state of mind to reply to surveys after a procedure or doctor’s visit. That’s why, in addition to personalizing their outreach, healthcare facilities need to extend engagement efforts to families and caregivers, whose feedback is a rich source of insights.

2. Demonstrate the impact of patient experience efforts with numbers and visuals

Ultimately, the key to success for all patient experience programs is the ability to demonstrate impact to providers and boards. This can prove to be a difficult task for some healthcare organizations, but a more–than–worthwhile one. Accenture study from 2016 reported that U.S. hospitals that provide “superior” customer (or patient) experience achieve 50% higher net margins than those delivering a merely “average” experience.

Data visualization is a highly effective tool in these efforts. HealthNet’s board benefited from easy-to-use Feedtrail dashboards that tie patient engagement to hard figures like Net Promoter Scores (NPS). Providers and operational leaders can also use Feedtrail’s platform to connect positive changes in patient sentiment to decreases in burnout and improved retention rates.

One platform to level up your listening capabilities

Establishing an effective, high-performing patient experience program means shifting to a patient-centric listening strategy. That transition is achievable — but not with generic, outdated, post-discharge patient surveys.

Forward-thinking tools like Feedtrail’s XM Platform enable your healthcare workers to engage with patients and their caregivers, understand how they think and feel, and provide them with the right insights to deliver an effective and personalized patient experience across the entire continuum of care.

Establishing an effective, high-performing patient experience program means shifting to a patient-centric listening strategy. That transition is achievable — but not with generic, outdated, post-discharge patient surveys. 

Community Health Centers can promote their pharmacy with real-time patient engagement

Community Health Centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) play a pivotal role in providing accessible and affordable healthcare to underserved populations. By taking advantage of the discounted drug prices offered through the 340B program, organizations can use the savings to support vital services at health centers and ensure that medications are affordable for low-income and uninsured individuals.

To further their mission and improve patient outcomes, these organizations can leverage real-time messaging and surveys to engage with patients and promote the use of in-house pharmacies, the associated cost savings, and other helpful programs. By embracing modern communication channels health centers can create a more connected and informed healthcare ecosystem.

6 Ways Community Health Centers Can Promote Their Pharmacy

Real-time messaging and patient experience surveys offer a dynamic way to connect with patients instantly. By incorporating these tools, FQHCs and Community Health Centers can bridge communication gaps and meet the needs of their patient populations. Here are some outreach examples to improve utilization of in-house pharmacies: 

1. Educational Messages:

Use real-time messaging to educate patients about the benefits of using the in-house pharmacy. Highlight cost savings, convenience, and the personalized service they receive, reinforcing the value of choosing the in-house pharmacy over external options. 

2. Cost-Saving Notifications:

Inform patients about the cost-saving advantages of the 340B program. Real-time messages can highlight reduced medication costs and the positive impact on their overall healthcare expenses. 

3. Vaccination Reminders:

Message patients to book appointment times or sign up for seasonal vaccines offered from the pharmacy. An educational message can easily link to a sign-up page or appointment site. 

4. Surveys for Continuous Improvement:

Utilize real-time messaging to send surveys to patients seeking feedback on their pharmacy experience and the affordability of medications. This data can be invaluable for making informed adjustments to better meet patient needs. 

5. Customized Survey Campaigns:

Tailor survey campaigns to gather insights on specific aspects of pharmacy services, such as staff interactions, waiting times, and the availability of medications. Real-time feedback allows for timely improvements and can help you understand why patients are, or are not, taking advantage of your resources and offerings. Additionally, surveying patients who are leveraging an outside pharmacy can help you learn why they are seeking services elsewhere. 

6. Addressing Concerns Promptly:

Real-time outreach provides an avenue for addressing patient concerns promptly. By acknowledging and addressing issues raised in surveys in a timely manner, FQHCs and Community Health Centers demonstrate their commitment to patient satisfaction. 

Real-Time Patient Engagement

Real-time patient engagement is a powerful tool that FQHCs and Community Health Centers can leverage to promote in-house pharmacies and cost savings through the 340B program. By engaging patients through timely and relevant communication and incorporating survey feedback, healthcare providers can enhance patient satisfaction, improve medication adherence, and contribute to the overall well-being of the communities they serve. As these centers continue to embrace innovative communication strategies, they strengthen their position as pillars of accessible and patient-centered healthcare.

About Ashley Worrall, Head of Marketing: Meet Ashley, a seasoned marketing, communications, and design expert boasting a rich tapestry of expertise cultivated over 15 years in the ever-evolving realms of healthcare and technology. She has strategically navigated diverse healthcare markets. From compelling pitches of enterprise software to the discerning C-Suites of large health systems, to fostering connections with software users in community health clinics, Ashley has left an indelible mark. Fueling Ashley’s professional zeal is a deep-rooted passion for revolutionizing healthcare. She is an ardent advocate for improving healthcare systems and outcomes. With a relentless commitment to developing and sharing though provoking and beneficial content, Ashley endeavors to not only communicate but also catalyze positive change within the healthcare landscape.

NACHC’s CHI and Expo Conference 2023: A Recap of Key Topics and Takeaways Impacting Community Health Centers

The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) recently hosted its annual Community Health Institute (CHI) and Expo conference. As one of the most significant events in the community health sector, the conference brought together healthcare professionals, policymakers, advocates, and experts to discuss critical issues, share innovative solutions, and explore the future of community-based healthcare.

This year’s conference, held from August 27th to 29th, featured a diverse range of sessions and speakers, with a focus on addressing the challenges and opportunities facing community health centers. I want to share some of my key highlights and takeaways from NACHC’s CHI and Expo Conference 2023.

Key Highlights

1. Healthcare Equity and Access

One of the central themes of the conference was healthcare equity and access. Given the ongoing disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, the sessions delved into strategies to improve access to care for underserved populations. FQHCs are often the last line of healthcare for a popultaion that would not get care otherwise, so creating multiple options to receive care and working intentionally to better serve these communities was a focus. Speakers discussed the importance of addressing social determinants of health, expanding telehealth services, and enhancing culturally competent care to reduce health disparities. The conference emphasized that achieving healthcare equity is not just a moral imperative, but also a crucial step towards improving public health outcomes.

2. Strengthening Primary Care

Community health centers play a vital role in delivering primary care to millions of Americans. Sessions at the conference highlighted the need to strengthen primary care services and the critical role of community health centers in providing comprehensive, patient-centered care. Attendees explored innovative models of care delivery, workforce development, and the integration of behavioral health services into primary care settings.

3. Health Policy and Advocacy

Given the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, the conference dedicated sessions to health policy and advocacy. Experts discussed the latest legislative and regulatory developments impacting community health centers, including funding, reimbursement, and telehealth policies. Participants were encouraged to engage with policymakers and advocate for policies that support the sustainability of community health centers and the populations they serve.

4. Technology and Innovation

In an era of rapid technological advancement, community health centers are increasingly adopting innovative solutions to enhance patient care and streamline operations. The conference explored the integration of technology, such as the use of AI, real-time surveying, and data analytics to improve patient outcomes and increase operational efficiency and patient experiences. Attendees also learned about the latest telehealth trends and how virtual care can extend access to underserved communities.

5. Leadership and Workforce Development

Strong leadership and a skilled workforce are essential for the success of community health centers. Sessions at the conference emphasized the importance of leadership development, staff training, and creating a supportive workplace culture. Attendees gained insights into effective strategies for recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals, especially in underserved areas, and how to improve retention and morale.

6. Collaborative Partnerships

Collaboration was a recurring theme throughout the conference. Community health centers were encouraged to forge partnerships with local organizations and government agencies to enhance their capacity to deliver comprehensive care. These collaborations can help address social determinants of health, expand service offerings, and improve patient outcomes.

Key Takeaways

Several key takeaways emerged from NACHC’s CHI and Expo Conference 2023:

• Equity is a Priority: Achieving healthcare equity remains a top priority for community health centers, and addressing social determinants of health is central to this mission.
• Policy Advocacy Matters: Advocating for supportive policies at the local, state, and federal levels is critical to sustaining and expanding community health center services.
• Innovation is Essential: Embracing technological advancements and innovative care models is essential for improving patient care, patient experiences, and operational efficiency.
• Workforce Development and Retention is Key: Investing in leadership development and workforce training along with retention and recognition programs is essential for the continued success of community health centers.
• Collaboration Drives Impact: Collaborative partnerships can amplify the impact of community health centers and enhance the overall health of the communities they serve.

NACHC’s CHI and Expo Conference 2023 provided a platform for healthcare professionals and stakeholders to come together, share insights, and advance the cause of community-based healthcare. As the sector continues to evolve, the knowledge and connections gained from this conference will undoubtedly contribute to the continued success of community health centers across the nation and I look forward to further conversations around how Feedtrail can help champion these missions with personalized, real-time patient engagement.

Ryan Phillips and Warren Mullis from Feedtrail at NACHC’s CHI and Expo conference 2023.