SUNBURY - Sunbury Community Hospital has begun a program whereby emergency room patients receive a follow-up call after they've been discharged.
The Discharge Callback Administrator (DCA) program involves a member of the medical or administrative staff, usually an experienced nurse or another member of the clinical team, contacting a patient within four days of their discharge. Patients are asked for permission to participate in the program while at the hospital.
The hospital representative will ask how the former patient is feeling, if there are any questions about their discharge instructions, physical condition or changes or questions about prescribed medications or pain issues. The representative will also inquire about the patient's experience in the emergency room and how satisfied he or she was with the care and service.
"This call is a patient's opportunity to ask any questions about their medical care or recovery, and our chance to collect valuable feedback about the service we provide," Kevin Shovlin, RN, emergency department director, said in a press release frrom the hospital. "All responses are valuable to us as they help us identify our strengths and opportunities to improve."
Patients who have a concern about medication, diagnosis questions or matters that need urgent attention are tagged for another follow-up call from a medical staff member.
Patients are encouraged to be honest about their experiences.
"The DCA program is intended not only to promote patient satisfaction, but also to give our hospital staff feedback on how well we are meeting - and hopefully exceeding - our patients' expectations," said Jeff Hunt, CEO. "The patient's feedback will help us to recognize individual staff members for outstanding service, to learn more about the patient experience at our hospital, and to identify opportunities for improvement."
In addition to enhancing patient satisfaction, the program has been shown to contribute to better clinical outcomes for patients, the hospital reports.