Digital rounding technology should not compromise the fundamentals of rounding
Interesting tease article here from Ragan’s Health Care Communication News, and article begins to scratch the surface for digital rounding. Here we have an infographic from Ubicare.com showcasing the pathway from patient to the content management system and reducing the amount of time the provider has to connect with the patient for repetitive tasks. The one piece we are missing, leveraging these tools to create a connection between the patient and provider. Specifically automation leads to a quality provider/patient experience.
Digital rounding is more than curated content and robust technology, it is a connection that builds relationships of trust. Quint Studer was a pioneer in conceptualizing what it meant to round in hospitals. A idea of encouraging leadership to get away from the C-Suite section of the hospital and walk the floors of the hospital to talk, listen, engage, and create a culture of change.
This notion of rounding became a global initiative for physicians, creating consistent touch points with the patient. These touch points were more than just walking the floors of the hospitals, it was creating connections with the patients to encourage dialogue and culture of trust.
Digital rounding is a newer frontier where healthcare providers can move beyond the physical hospital into a virtual world of interaction, leveraging social media, blogs, tele-medicine and other digital tools as touch points. These tools create a bridge between the healthcare provider and the patient, allowing for synchronous and asynchronous communication to happen regardless of geographic and time barriers.
Ubicare.com provides great tools to connect the patient to the healthcare organization and provider, but we have to remember that this information has to be a pathway to real, organic conversation between patient and provider. These tools maybe part of the essential catalyst for patient care and patients taking charge of their care; but it boils down to creating a conversation so the healthcare provider and the patient can work together.
When we work with hospitals deploying enterprise level social media initiatives, digital marketing tools, community building programs, and our content advocacy program; they always lead back to creating a connection point with the healthcare provider. Digital tools are only an extension, part of the tool bag; yet the road always leads back to patient and provider trusted connection.
*Image license purchased from iStock.com