UPDATE: A groundbreaking nursing study from UCSF Health reveals that integrating texting with traditional outreach methods can dramatically enhance follow-up care for patients post-discharge. Published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, this urgent research highlights a critical shift in how healthcare providers can connect with hard-to-reach patients.
After hospital discharge, many patients require ongoing treatment, including medication and community services, to ensure effective recovery. Unfortunately, hospitals often struggle to communicate with these individuals, leading to gaps in care. The new study underscores the importance of outreach methods such as automated messages, live phone calls, and particularly, SMS texts.
“Patients are often overwhelmed after discharge and don’t realize what they’re missing until we ask the right questions,” said Lena Compton, RN, MS, UCSF Health nurse coordinator for Care Transitions Outreach. The team at UCSF employs a collaborative approach involving nursing, social work, and pharmacy departments to ensure patients have access to necessary resources immediately after leaving the hospital.
The study identified a significant disparity in outreach effectiveness, particularly among African American patients. Standard automated phone calls reached only 70% of these patients, compared to an overall rate of 80%. Recognizing this gap, the team adapted their strategy by implementing an integrated outreach model that included SMS texts for all patients, supplemented by live calls for those unresponsive to texts.
The results were striking. By adding text messages, engagement among African American patients surged to 76.4%, while overall outreach for all patients improved from 80.2% to 83.7%. This innovative strategy not only enhances patient engagement but also ensures that vulnerable populations receive the care they desperately need.
“We realized that we weren’t supporting certain populations effectively, and that meant they weren’t getting the help they needed,” stated Meg Wheeler, RN, MS, manager of Care Transitions Programs. The team’s proactive approach ensures that patients understand their care instructions, access medications, and schedule follow-up appointments.
This study is a pivotal step towards closing the equity gap in healthcare, particularly as healthcare systems worldwide face challenges in post-discharge follow-up. As the results demonstrate, utilizing technology in a thoughtful manner can significantly improve patient outreach and outcomes.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story as healthcare providers continue to implement innovative strategies to enhance patient care.
