Patient experience: Why data management matters 

Let’s say a patient shows up in your emergency room (ER) with a cut on his thumb from slicing tomatoes for his backyard barbecue.

What will your team do to offer a great patient experience to make sure he comes back to your ER—and not the one a few blocks away—the next time he needs help?

Of course your team’s going to do their utmost to get him stitched up and back out to his party—that pretty much goes without saying. But what about answering that question from the perspective of your data management strategy?

For example, is the ER doctor going to ask the patient the same 10 questions he already answered in the paperwork at check-in? Is your team going to leave his personal information out in the open for all to see, even in passing? Will the staff give him additional paperwork about his ER visit that he can take to his follow-up appointment with his own physician? Will you send referrals electronically, so your patient doesn’t need anything when he arrives?