At the 2024 Healthcare Analytics Summit (HAS), Health Catalyst awarded Providence the Catalyst Award in the Patient Engagement category.
This prestigious recognition acknowledges Providence's efforts in enhancing engagement across 13 deployments, including its various hospitals, clinics, and service lines. The health system realized a 44 percent relative decrease in readmissions for patients undergoing total joint replacement surgery. Additionally, Providence reported a 15 percent relative decrease in length of stay (LOS) and a 25.2 percent increase in average patient engagement.
The healthcare system achieved these results after launching a digital educational initiative in response to ongoing patient feedback indicating insufficient recovery expectations following joint surgeries.
Upon identifying a gap in recovery expectations for patients after joint surgeries, Providence sought to ensure patients understood the recovery process, what to anticipate regarding pain after joint surgeries, and how to manage it. Providence also wanted to reduce LOS and 30-day readmissions to improve performance in their value-based bundled payment model.
To accomplish this, Providence leveraged Twistle by Health Catalyst to build digital care plans for total hip replacement (THR) and total knee replacement (TKR) surgeries that support pre-operative preparation, day-of-surgery guidance, and post-operative recovery at home. Twistle streamlined access to patient information by automating the delivery of care plans, which encompassed education, reminders, surveys, checklists, and messages from the care team.
A cohort of patients undergoing a THR or TKR were invited to use Twistle, and 83 percent of invitees opted into the digital care plans. Patients received information about surgery preparation, including a video of their surgeon delivering a message of reassurance and comfort. Messages after the procedure provided step-by-step guidance to help patients adhere to their care plans. Also, the remote patient support potentially kept patients from getting discharged to a skilled nursing facility.
Remarkably, the Twistle cohort experienced a 44 percent reduction in hospital readmissions and surgical complications. Providence also found that patients were better prepared to recover at home, and physicians felt reassured that patients could be closely monitored at home and have easy access to the care team via Twistle.
Additionally, the number of inpatients discharged after one day doubled to around 40 percent, and the number of patients staying more than two days decreased. Meanwhile, LOS was reduced by 15 percent. Patient satisfaction and online ratings improved, as 92 percent found Twistle helpful, and 80 percent would recommend Twistle. These findings are based on a 2020 analysis conducted by Providence and patient engagement data procured by Twistle.
"I want to underscore our commitment to leveraging digital technology to enhance the quality of care for our patients,” said Adar Palis, GVP of Clinical and Revenue Cycle Applications at Providence. “Our mission is to provide the best possible care experience, and this collaboration reaffirms our efforts towards achieving that goal."
Providence has significantly improved post-surgery patient outcomes, fostering better connectivity with care teams and enhancing patient engagement through innovative technology. In addition to the award recognition, Providence’s implementation of its digital education initiative sets a standard for providing exceptional continuity of care.
