Case Study: Peri-Procedural Loop Program at Specialty Clinics
“Having the [Peri-Procedural] loop as a tool has significantly improved my ability to connect with our patients in the perioperative period. It allows me to share essential information to prepare patients for surgery while developing a personal connection from our interactions. I am able to track my patients following surgery with ease and feel confident knowing that they have this additional platform to engage in."
Orthopaedic Institute patients were invited to participate
Of patients opted-in and routinely use the Peri-Procedural Loop
Of patients avoided unnecessary follow-up visits or phone calls
Patients with high levels of engagement were 77% less likely to have a 30-day readmission
Engaging Patients With Their Care Team With the Right Information at the Right Time Throughout Their Care Journey
The Orthopaedic Institute had relied on written documentation and manual intervention by clinical teams to manage care for surgical patients before, during, and after their procedures. There was no systematic approach to guide patients through their peri-procedural phase. Patients lacked clarity on their surgical procedures, how to best prepared, and how to manage self-care post procedure.
Clinical staff spent significant amount of time guiding patients through their perioperative
course. This distracted them from performing higher level peri-procedural navigation and
working at the top of their license.
What Did We Do?
In 2014, the Orthopaedic Institute and CDHI collaborated to deliver a better patient experience with the launch of the Peri-Procedural Loop Program – via a digital care management platform (GetWell Loop).
Peri-Procedural Loops enable patients to stay connected with their doctors between visits,
keeping the entire medical team “in the loop” and informed about patients’ progress. Between July 2015 and September 2022, Orthopaedic Institute Peri-Procedural Loop Program invited 14,880 patients to participate and achieved an 87% activation rate.
How Does the Peri-Procedural Loop Program Work?
1. Patients automatically receive daily alerts and notifications on their smart device. These interactive mobile check-ins ask patients how they’re doing and guide them through each
step of their medical journey by helping them prepare, setting daily expectations, supporting self-care recovery activities, anticipating their questions, and monitoring clinical areas of concern.
2. With this platform, care teams can gain a real-time view of a patient’s clinical status, both before and after procedures:
- Pre-procedure care teams can monitor a patient’s readiness (such as anticoagulation plans, transportation needs)
- Post-procedure care teams can receive real-time updates about a patient’s symptoms and progress.
What Was Our Impact?
Patient experience is improved – patients have access to a more predictable, uniform, and multichannel patient experience for scheduled, major surgical procedures as they know what to expect and when, with the added results of reducing variability in the delivery of care.
- With digital guidance for patients in the pre- and post-surgical period, staff have more time for higher level patient support, lowering the risk of ED visits and re-hospitalization and reducing the risk of case cancellations due to non-adherence to pre-surgical instructions.
(data July 2015 – September 2022)
of patients extremely likely to recommend MD
of patients were satisfied with the peri-procederal loop
of patients were able to avoid calls or visits to the office
Patients with high levels of engagement were 77% less likely to have a 30-day readmission
Orthopaedic Patients:
- “Really appreciated the [Peri-Procedural Loop. Erica and Rachael were terrific. Very responsive. I have told friends and family about this great post op service. Will continue to strive for my pre-op goal, walking and hiking without any pain or discomfort.”
- “The results, the team cohesiveness, the before and after information, and the responsiveness to questions and concerns. The Peri-Procedural Loop and My Chart are great.”
- “Promptness, constant communication, daily check-ins. I could go on and on. When he talks to me, I feel so lucky to have him as he reassures me and makes me feel so safe in his hands. He’s the best.”
What We Learned and What's Next
There have been increased levels of adoption and engagement on peri-procedural digital navigation programs and a reduction in ED visit and hospitalization rates for patients who are engaged on the platform. Overall, patients seem to be quite satisfied with their providers.
Going forward there is a need to provide multi-language support to address the needs of a wider patient population, and also enable EPIC integration to encourage more practices to adopt peri-procedural loops.
Furthermore, it would be useful to look for ways to address common questions/concerns via Loop content.
To learn more the peri-procedural loops