Electronic Health Reporter

Standard Register Healthcare (NYSE:SR), a leader in managing patient-centric information and communications, announced the introduction of SMARTworks EffectiveResponse, a new solution to engage patients after any type of encounter. Unveiled last week at the Healthcare Information Systems Society’s (HIMSS) Annual Conference and Exhibition, the

innovative software solution automatically follows-up with patients to assure they are progressing as appropriate and to assess patient satisfaction with their care.

“As health care reform puts greater focus on patient satisfaction and improving transitions of care, healthcare organizations need cost-effective solutions that enable them to engage patients beyond discharge and improve prospects for their recovery,” said Standard Register Healthcare’s President John King. “Certain high-risk, high-resource utilization areas, such as hospital emergency departments(ED), are a logical place to focus. With this solution, we can help customers enhance the quality of care, improve patient satisfaction and ensure successful care transitions.”

In fact, a growing body of research demonstrates that contacting individuals after any type of hospital interaction boosts patient satisfaction, mitigates risk and optimizes provider performance. A report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, describing results of an intervention at a two-hospital system with 90,000 annual ED encounters, indicated that contacting patients the day after an ED visit had helped the hospital consistently achieve 95-99 percent Press Ganey satisfaction scores and reduced the risk of negative outcomes following discharge. Furthermore, in a study presented at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 25^th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care, poorly-reimbursed admissions for observation, which will gain further CMS scrutiny under the “Two-Midnight Rule,” were cut in half.

SMARTworks® EffectiveResponse™ provides that valuable follow-up. It electronically polls patients after any type of encounter via text or email, allowing them to communicate their current condition, comment on their hospital experience and pose any questions about their care. The solution also provides a callback system for patients who do not respond to text or email. A call center operator then poses assessment questions and a console electronically records all answers. Based on a patient’s response, department leaders are automatically alerted of issues, so they can take appropriate action.

About Standard Register
Standard Register (NYSE:SR) is trusted by the world’s leading companies to advance their reputations and add value to their operations by aligning communications with corporate standards and priorities. Providing market-specific insights and a compelling portfolio of workflow, content and analytics solutions to address the changing business landscape in healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and retail markets, Standard Register is the recognized leader in the management and execution of mission-critical communications. More information is available at www.standardregister.com.

Standard Register Healthcare is a business unit of Standard Register, serving more than 1,800 clients from across the healthcare delivery network, including acute, ambulatory, and long-term care, managed care and the suppliers that support them. A recognized leader in managing patient-centric information and communications, Standard Register Healthcare, together with Dialog Medical, a subsidiary of Standard Register, provides services and technology-enabled solutions to standardize and manage communications to enhance patient engagement, the coordination of care and achieve desired outcomes. More information is available at www.standardregisterhealthcare.com.