Among the many value-drivers of digital health, the opportunity to mitigate risk and reduce medical malpractice claims is one of the most financially significant.
Careful documentation, early and accurate diagnoses, empowered patients and a strong patient/provider relationship can all be facilitated by the right digital health solution. This is the third in a four part series to demonstrate how Babyscripts can improve the bottom line for customers without sacrificing quality of care, patient safety, or provider experience.
[Did you miss Parts 1 & 2? Read them here]
Babyscripts facilitates accurate and timely diagnoses.
The majority of malpractice suits are filed due to diagnostic errors, such as misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. In maternity care, some of the most serious oversights are blood pressure-related, but they are also the most easily avoided. Data and insights delivered through a tool like Babyscripts myBloodPressure, which enables remote patient monitoring for blood pressure, can inform clinical decisions and put clinicians on alert for potential complications such as preeclampsia, a precursor to eclampsia and frequently an indicator of HELLP syndrome.
Babyscripts’ myBloodPressure is configured for four separate risk pathways, including normotensive, chronic hypertension, prenatal hypertension, and postpartum hypertension. Patients receive instruction on how to record their blood pressure using the at-home blood pressure cuff and have access to a patient support line. Babyscripts’ unique escalation system and 24/7 call center ensures that if a patient records a reading outside the measurements set by the provider, the event will trigger the appropriate protocol, offering an extra layer of security in addition to the provider dashboard that is accessible at all times.
[Babyscripts enabled early detection and intervention of postpartum preeclampsia for this patient. Download the case study].
Babyscripts supports the patient/provider relationship.
Regardless of the complication providing cause for a claim, many malpractice suits are pursued because a patient feels that they weren’t treated fairly or informed of the proper protocol, or they didn’t understand the treatment recommendation. Researchers have highlighted the importance of a strong patient/provider relationship to prevent feelings of neglect or dismissiveness, and the value of educating patients to empower them in their own care (1).
Providers rarely have the time or resources to follow up personally with patients after every appointment, to continuously check in to make sure that patients are being compliant with a care recommendation, and they can’t expect or rely on the patient to follow up.
Babyscripts offers a digital support system that can keep track of a patient after they leave the office, with a reporting dashboard to keep the provider informed about what resources the patient has accessed and document their activity. Even if a patient misses an appointment or fails to process and remember important info at the moment, they still have 24/7 access to that information to reference at need. With checklists to keep track of important milestones, and reminders to adhere to certain care measures, the Babyscripts app provides an extra level of support to enforce the guidance that patients are receiving in the office, and prevents practices from losing patients through the cracks.
Babyscripts empowers the individual to manage their own care.
Babyscripts also provides educational content that is accessible to the patient 24/7, and delivers reminders through SMS and email to ensure that patients are being compliant to their care plan. Self monitoring data such as blood pressure and weight with Babyscripts tracking and RPM tools keeps patients directly involved with their health management, and the app provides supplemental resources to ensure that patients understand how to evaluate their symptoms and speak knowledgeably about their health.
This is Part 3 of a continuing series on Achieving ROI through Babyscripts. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss Part 4!
Interested in learning the financial impact of Babyscripts for you? Schedule an ROI consultation below.
1. Levinson W, Roter DL, Mullooly JP, Dull VT, Frankel RM. Physician-Patient Communication: The Relationship With Malpractice Claims Among Primary Care Physicians and Surgeons. JAMA. 1997; 277(7):553–559.
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