Reaching out to patients with a second pre-op phone call may help facilities significantly reduce the incidence of day-of-surgery cancellations, suggests a study published online by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority.
As part of an 18-month, collaborative effort with the authority, 11 ASCs also conducted nurse-driven pre-op screenings and assessments, implemented standardized checklists and patient-friendly forms, and improved provider-patient communication by eliminating medical jargon. By the program's end, they saw a 120% drop in no-show cancellation rates, a 28.5% decrease in transportation-related cancellations and 22.4% fewer protocol-related cancellations.
Their new checklists included questions about each patient's ambulatory status, mental status, transportation abilities and potential financial barriers.
