Axial Exchange Debuts Patient Engagement Index (PEI), Ranking Hospitals Based On Patients’ Participation In Their Own Care

Use Independent Third-Party Metrics of Patient Engagement To Rank Florida Hospitals; Puts a Stake in the Ground that Patient Engagement Matters

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Axial Exchange Inc. today debuted the Patient Engagement Index (PEI), a groundbreaking ranking of US hospitals based on the perspective of patients and how deeply each hospital’s patient communities are engaged in their care. The first such Index ranks the top hospitals in Florida – a state chosen because its demographics frame a bellwether for the rest of the nation - according to independent third party metrics on parameters that have been proven to lower costs and improve outcomes. Future indices for other US regions will debut throughout the coming months.

As patient satisfaction and engagement become important elements in payment reform, comprising 30% of Medicare’s newly enacted Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program’s score, the Patient Engagement Index represents an important comparative measure. For hospitals, top quartile PEI ranking can spotlight patient-facing initiatives that are succeeding, while lower ranking can incentivize institutions to boost efforts at enlisting patients more fully in their own care. For patients, the PEI ranking can indicate those hospitals that are most likely to support them in their aftercare.

Patient engagement is the concept that patients take ownership of their own health care. Study after study show that patient engagement makes for higher quality care or enables lower system costs – or both. A Commonwealth Funds-supported study showed that patients with the highest engagement had significantly lower costs and that the least engaged patients in the study generated 21% more health costs.1 Patients suffering from depression who were given interactive engagement tools showed a 33% increase in antidepressant medication adherence, decreased overall depression scores, and a 61% increase in satisfaction with treatment.2

Yet to date, major US rankings of healthcare systems such as that from US News and World Report do not include metrics of patient engagement.

The Patient Engagement Index ranks 74 major Florida hospital systems based on three metrics that research indicate can lower costs or improve outcomes:

• Personal health resources (comprising 50% of score): based on an aggregate score for hospitals that provided any of the following: read-only Internet access to health information, mobile applications, or interactive tools for managing ongoing health. Studies show that hospitals each of these types of personal health resources score better on reducing costs and improving outcomes than hospitals which do not. For example in one study patients who received help from their providers that they could share in decision-making saw 12.5% lower hospital admissions and lower costs.3
• Social engagement (25% of score): based on a weighted score of hospital ratings on leading social media and consumer ratings sites. A recent study showed a correlation between Facebook likes and care quality and patient satisfaction,4 while another study showed that among hospitals with more than five Yelp ratings, there is a high correlation with lower readmission and mortality rates.5
• Patient Satisfaction (25% of score): as measured by an annual Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) patient satisfaction survey called the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey (HCAHPS), a standardized instrument for measuring patients' perspectives on hospital care that has been endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF). According to one study, higher patient satisfaction via the HCAHPS survey is associated with improved guideline adherence and lower inpatient mortality rates.6

Detailed methodology of the Patient Engagement Index is published here. All Florida hospitals were sent a letter informing them of their ranking, providing PEI methodology and links to the published data for consideration in their own initiatives toward Meaningful Use and heightened reimbursement levels.

“Patient engagement is important because management of chronic illnesses involves action by both patient and provider. Patients should feel empowered to be part of the medical plan, because research shows that active engagement can lead to improved outcomes and increased satisfaction,” said Paul Y. Takahashi, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic and a board advisor to Axial Exchange.

“Patient engagement matters to hospital success and to our nation as a whole,” said Joanne Rohde, CEO of Axial Exchange, a provider of health IT solutions that drive patient engagement and improved patient outcomes. “It’s time we put a stake in the ground that patient engagement is core to the quality of health care and the success, both financially and in terms of outcomes, of healthcare providers.”

“In an Internet era where rising deductibles are driving patients to closely examine health care choices – and where consumers rate physicians online like they do with restaurants and plumbers – we believe that publishing a quantitative measure such as a Patient Engagement Index can spotlight those forward-thinking healthcare systems that are succeeding in empowering patients to get well – and point the way for others.”

About Axial Exchange, Inc.

Axial Exchange is revolutionizing the way that patients manage their health. With Axial, hospitals are able to keep their patients continuously engaged resulting in dramatically improved health outcomes and much more satisfied patients. Axial drives engagement by giving patients the information and interactive tools patients need in order to get well -- all delivered securely to the device of the patient's choice. Patients can share their health information with providers and care givers. Health systems benefit via lower readmissions and improved patient satisfaction scores.

In December 2011 Axial’s flagship solution was named first-prize winner in the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Partnership for Patients Initiative innovation competition for “Ensuring Safe Transitions from Hospital to Home.” Axial Exchange is backed by a syndicate of top venture capital firms, led by Canaan Partners (www.canaan.com). Visit www.axialexchange.com.

1 Hibbard, J.H, Greene, J. and Overton, V., “Patients With Lower Activation Associated With Higher Costs; Delivery Systems Should Know Their Patients’ ‘Scores,’” Health Affairs, Feb 2013: 32 (2):216-222.
2 Simon, G.E. et al., “Randomized Trial of Depression Follow-Up Care by Online Messaging,” Journal of General Internal Medicine, July 2011: 26 (7) 698-704.
3 Karman, K.L. et al., “Patient and Family Engagement: A Framework for Understanding The Elements and Developing Interventions and Policies,” Health Affairs, February 2012: 32 (2), 222-231.
4 Timian, A. and Kachnowski, S., “Do Patients ‘Like’ Good Care? Measuring Hospital Quality via Facebook,” American Journal of Medical Quality, February 2013, 10.1177/1062860612474839
5 Bardach, N.S., et al., “The Relationship Between Commercial Website Ratings and Traditional Hospital Performance Measures in the USA,” BMJ Quality & Safety, 2013. 2:194-202 doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001360
6 Boulding, W., Glickman, S.W., Schulman, K.A., and Staelin, R., “Relationship Between Patient Satisfaction With Inpatient Care and Hospital Readmission Within 30 Days,” American Journal of Managed Care, 2011 Jan: 17 (1): 41-48.

Contacts

Media:
Axial Exchange Inc.
Joanne Rohde, 919-647-9646
CEO and Founder
[email protected]
or
Mary Kae Marinac, 978-685-3136
PR Representative for Axial Exchange
[email protected]