1. Give the patients appropriate expectations. When considering hip or knee replacement surgery, patients have a pre-conceived image of their final result in terms of pain relief and function (“recovery expectations”). Similarly, after a thorough examination and discussion with the patient, the surgeon recommending joint replacement surgery also develops expectations for recovery for each individual patient. When a patient has expectations that are unrealistically high, the unmet expectation after surgery may diminish the patient’s perceived satisfaction. Conversely, a patient with preoperative expectations that are too low may not engage enthusiastically in the different phases of recovery and may have a sub-optimal result. Improving the patient-physician dialogue will ultimately increase the patient’s perceived satisfaction.
2. Educate the patient sufficiently on infection prevention. Despite following all of the medical guidelines, infections may still occur if the patient doesn’t follow infection prevention instructions. Giving patients written instructions increases the chance they will complete the infection control measures, such as the preoperative shower, appropriately. Some organizations offer courses for patients before elective surgery to go through all of the infection control and outcome expectations, says Linda Greene, RN, MPS, CIC, a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology’s board and lead author of APIC’s Guide to the Elimination of Orthopedic Surgical Site Infections.
3. Don’t forget about patients’ family members. Orthopedic surgery center staff should be aware of the needs of family members or other caregivers who are with patients or pick them up. “Make sure you are communicating clearly with these individuals about follow-up, medications and so forth,” says Rajiv Chopra, of the C/N Group in Merrillville, Ind. Ask them if they are they getting all the information they need or if they need further information.
4. Keep wait times short. Patients are generally asked to arrive at the ASC an hour prior to their procedure, and if a physician is late or a previous case is delayed, they can end up waiting for longer than they expected. For a patient who is nervous and may not have eaten recently, this can increase stress levels and make the surgical experience seem more daunting. Carla Daley Shehata, director of clinical operations for Regent Surgical Health, says while ASCs may not be able to control physician emergencies or unexpected complications with other cases, they can take steps to calm a patient down. “I think keeping the patient informed calms them down,” she says. “A lot of times, if we know [about the delay] early enough, we’ll ask them to come in a little later for their comfort.” If the patient is already at the ASC and will have to experience a wait, talk to them about the delay and apologize for any discomfort.
5. Make sure your office is aesthetically pleasing. It is also important to make sure the facility is aesthetically pleasing. A surgery center can achieve a positive environment from encouraging staff to smile and making sure the physicians are conveniently accessible to the patients. Someone from the practice should also be calling the patients at home before and after each step of the process, which strengthens the connection between patients and the ASC.
