by Tony Chen

Mark Achler, CEO of patient communications pioneer Emmi Solutions, was gracious enough to answer a few questions about health literacy and the value of effective patient communications.

1. What are the top 3 things all hospital leaders need to know about health literacy?

1. It’s a bigger problem than most of us may realize. Over 90 million Americans have difficulty understanding and acting on health information. Even well-educated people have trouble understanding instructions on pill bottles, discharge sheets, informed consent documents, and the brochures and handouts that are supposedly there to help.

2. The health literacy problem is a patient satisfaction problem. It’s a quality and safety problem. It’s a risk problem.

3. Health literacy has huge economic consequences for hospitals. The IOM found that the US healthcare system spends an average of $993 every year per patient with low health literacy in excess hospitalization expenses. So, improving the health literacy level of patients should be on the top of hospital leaders to do lists and action items. It’s fundamental.

2. What is the value proposition for a hospital to augment its patient communications/education resources? Can you give any examples of concrete results from Emmi's experience?

Hospitals benefit in four major ways when EmmiPrep™, our perioperative product line, is fully implemented. 1) Improving patient satisfaction 2) Quality and safety improvement 3) Creating operational efficiencies and 4) Supporting their risk management efforts. It starts with engaging patients in their treatment process. When you can engage and inform patients about their treatment and options, you will have a more satisfied and loyal patient. And that engages the physicians. Happier patients who feel that the hospital and their doctor went the extra mile to educate them and their family in a personal and relevant way are more loyal to that organization. So you have multiple benefits here.

Now, about patient safety. EmmiPrep walks patients through what they need to know to have a safe experience before, during, and after their treatment – like the universal protocol around preventing wrong site, wrong person errors that the Joint Commission has established. We encourage disclosures around allergies, medications, and health history. And we help deepen their understanding of what to expect. In fact, 96% of 41,057 patients surveyed said Emmi improved their understanding of what to expect from their procedure.

Choosing to have surgery (and where to have it) is a big decision and our programs help patients really understand, in plain language, what’s involved, what the risks are, what are the alternatives. Interestingly, Press Ganey has found that patients feel safer when provided with more information, specifically, information that aids decision-making. In fact, patient’s perception of safety increases with the number of pieces of information they receive. Not only do Emmi programs address key elements of patient safety, by virtue of offering these programs to patients and promoting them throughout the organization, it impacts a patient’s perception of safety.

3. How does Emmi make communications "emotionally-engaging?"

We work with real patients throughout the development process. They tell us about their experiences, fears and wishes. We listen and incorporate those insights and coping strategies into our programs. The voice of the program creates a very intimate experience. It’s the voice that addresses those embarrassing questions without judgment and anticipates the questions you didn’t know you had. Patients and their families are extremely responsive to this method of communication. It’s empathic. We have a high response rate to a survey that patients can go through after watching an Emmi program. And often people say how soothing the experience was and valuable. It’s filling a gap in communication that doctors and patients appreciate.

4. Are there particular types of hospitals that would benefit the most from Emmi's products and services?

Our hospital customers are forward-thinking. They believe in and invest in the power of communication and how it can transform their business.

5. There seems to be more and more companies that are attempting to address the health litreracy gap and the patient communications gap. What sets Emmi apart from the rest of the pack?

You really know it when you see it. It’s why an iPod is better than other mp3 players. You want to interact with Emmi. It’s the design, the methodology, the trustworthiness of the content, the whole approach. And our technology platform is very sophisticated. Unlike DVDs and brochures and web content, Emmi can be measured. Our clients know, in real time, that a patient was informed. You can’t tell if someone read content on your website or your brochures or other materials. With Emmi, our clients track and gather data, including patients’ questions and concerns. It’s 2-way communication. That’s a huge benefit for hospitals.