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Patient-Centered Care in SNFs

Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) engage in a daily balancing act. Quality of care for their residents and patients on one hand. Stakeholder pressure for financial performance on the other. Many days, aligning the two is challenging.

Resident- and patient-centered care strike a balance between the two. This healthcare model takes a holistic view, addressing physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being. Shifting from physician-driven treatment to patient-centered care produces better health outcomes and higher satisfaction. In turn, those improvements can reduce hospitalizations and increase SNF reimbursement potential.

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Defining Patient-Centered Care

At its simplest, patient-centered care is a partnership between healthcare providers and those they care for. Rather than purely prioritizing the clinical perspective, patient-centered care involves patients and their families in the decision-making process and honors their ability to choose their care methods.  Other common principles of this partnership include:

  • Treatment from trusted healthcare providers
  • Coordinated and integrated care that considers physical, social, mental, environmental, and emotional needs
  • Transparent communication
  • Continuity of care
  • Support and empathy for patients, residents, caretakers, and families
  • Access to healthcare advice and an emphasis on self-care

Why Adopt Patient-Centered Care?

Patient-centered care offers numerous advantages.

Improved Patient Outcomes and Reduced Readmissions

Readmissions to the hospital shortly after transitioning can indicate subpar care. These events may contribute to an erosion of trust between the individual and their care team and cause emotional, mental, and financial strain for patients, residents, and their families. Those potential outcomes reinforce the importance of enhancing the quality of care in SNFs.

Patient-centered care helps reduce the chance of readmission in several ways. For instance, this model results in better management of chronic conditions, lessening complication rates.

Improved patient outcomes also derive from stronger patient engagement. When patient perspectives are considered in a care plan, patients feel more dignified in their care and are more likely to adhere to treatment. A care plan created with a physician can also be easier to understand and remember, making compliance more accessible.

Patient noncompliance is common with impersonal, physician-centered care, and it comes with major risks. Studies have shown that failing to follow care recommendations puts more than 40% of patients at significant risk. Engagement and adherence ultimately improve outcomes while creating a more positive experience for patients.

Additionally, involving patients in their care promotes individualized treatment strategies, which may hasten recovery and the transition from SNF to home.

Increased Patient and Family Satisfaction

The skilled nursing facility patient experience is equally as important as the quality of care your center provides. Residents, patients, and their families will tell others about the service they receive. If the experience fails to meet their expectations, negative word of mouth will often result in reputational damage.

Patient-centered care highlights choice and dignity for patients, which are often overlooked needs in medical settings. In fact, one of the most frequently reported reasons why people avoid medical care is interpersonal concerns related to physicians. Concerns like not being listened to or being treated as “less than” play into these concerns and make patients feel unsafe and ignored in medical settings.

Building partnerships with patients and making decisions together nurtures stronger relationships between healthcare providers, patients, residents, and their families. These stronger relationships lead to greater trust and engagement, building a stronger reputation for your SNF and increasing admissions and recommendations.

Improve Patient Outcomes

How to Implement Patient-Centered Care in Your SNF

The following steps can help your SNF successfully implement patient-centered care.

1. Build a Culture of Education and Involvement

Patient-centered care starts with your people, their buy-in, and their behavior. Invest in training programs that prepare them for the shift. Help your staff build active listening skills they can bring to each resident or patient interaction. Doing so enables a better understanding of a patient or resident’s needs and preferences so you can adjust care plans accordingly.

Encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration is also vital to patient-centered care. Involving every member of the care team upholds coordinated, integrated care for a more holistic approach.

Additionally, consider establishing advisory councils that allow patients and residents to provide input into center decisions. This feedback supports patient-centered care by giving residents and patients a voice in their environment.

2. Harness Technology for Personalized Care

Technology is critical to enhancing the quality of care in SNFs. It enables more personalized approaches, supporting the shift to patient-centered care. SNFs have multiple digital tools they can leverage, including:

  • Electronic Health Records: EHRs provide real-time information to improve communication and collaboration. One survey found that 93% of clinicians reported better communication after adopting EHRs.
  • Patient or resident portals: Families can easily communicate with care team members, access information, and participate in decision-making.
  • Telehealth services: Patients and residents can consult with their healthcare providers and specialists virtually to help reduce hospital visits or transfers.

3. Expand Recreational and Social Programs

Feelings of isolation can be common for SNF patients and residents. These emotions are entirely understandable — a healthcare event has disrupted their familiar routines and lifestyles. Residents and patients are also less physically active, with one study reporting that they may spend as much as 92% of their day sedentary. This inactivity further contributes to declining overall well-being.

Consider implementing more recreational and social programs in your patient-centered care model. Additional opportunities to exercise, engage, reconnect, and interact with others help alleviate feelings of depression and isolation, reducing adverse effects. Options include:

  • Personalized activities that align with interests and backgrounds
  • Music, art, and pet therapy programs
  • Family engagement activities, such as playing games or eating meals together
  • Physical movement initiatives aligned with patient or resident mobility and therapy goals

Taking this approach ensures your staff assesses the impacts of a SNF stay more holistically to meet patient and resident needs.

4. Work With a Proven SNFist Partner

Successfully implementing patient-centered care demands specialized expertise in internal medicine and the SNF environment. The most effective implementations start with an experienced partner.

At First Docs, we drive patient-centered care for SNFs. When you work with us, you benefit from a dedicated physician who’s on-site up to five days per week. Our experts help:

  • Lead interdisciplinary collaboration: Our physicians actively participate in interdisciplinary care team meetings, addressing patient needs across physical, emotional, and social aspects. By promoting collaboration between nursing, therapy, social work, and other departments, First Docs can ensure comprehensive, holistic care. For example, we collaborate with therapy professionals to adjust rehabilitation plans as patient medical status changes, ensuring care meets evolving needs.
  • Create more personalized treatment plans: Our internists develop individualized care plans based on medical history, preferences, and values, guiding families and residents through decision-making so treatment and goals align. For example, if a patient prefers to stay at home for as long as possible, First Docs will create a plan that emphasizes comfort care, reduces unnecessary hospitalizations, and ensures proper at-home care support.

Manage chronic conditions better: Our physicians oversee and coordinate chronic care management (CCM), prioritizing preventive care to reduce readmissions. For instance, we comprehensively manage diabetic patient care, ensuring regular blood sugar monitoring, medication adjustments, and dietary guidance for fewer hospital visits and improved stability.

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Achieve Patient-Centered Care With First Docs

Patient-centered care is a viable solution for enhancing the quality of care in SNFs while driving higher reimbursements. Partnering with First Docs is the ideal way to implement it successfully.

Ready to implement patient-centered care at your SNF? Reach out today to schedule a consultation and see how First Docs can help.

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