Getting to Know You

Expanded questions asked at admission aimed at enhancing care.

By Jo-El Sprecher, Mary Greeley Patient Experience and Safety Director

If you’ve ever checked into a hospital, you know the process involves a few questions.

Questions about your insurance. Questions about your current health status. Questions about personal preferences. At Mary Greeley, it’s all part of getting to know you so that we can provide the level of care you expect and deserve.

Those questions are now more important than ever. Recently, we enhanced our efforts to personalize care by integrating questions on Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) into our MyChart patient portal and admission processes. This will allow us to gather valuable information, supporting a more comprehensive understanding of our patients’ needs, and enabling the development of more tailored care plans for our patients and their caregivers. 

Your Needs

When you come to the hospital for an inpatient stay, you can expect to be prompted by a nurse to provide information on various aspects of your social circumstances such as: housing, employment, education, access to transportation, social support, etc. Once received, this information is stored in your medical record for review by your care team. From there, you may receive a visit from a member of our care coordination team or another member of your care team about additional support or resources that may benefit you.

Though SDOH information will enhance our understanding of your needs and help us personalize your care, we acknowledge that inquiries about social needs may appear highly personal or invasive. In addition to admission nurses asking questions about SDOH, you or your healthcare proxy also have the option to enter your own SDOH information via MyChart. Information can be entered or updated any time similar to other demographic data that you would update before an outpatient appointment or hospital stay. Patients also have the option to decline answering any questions they choose. (If you don’t have a MyChart account and would like to sign up for one, please visit www.mgmc.org and click the MyChart icon at the top of the page.)

Your Data, Your Care

Only about 20 percent of a person’s health is impacted by what we do when they are with us in the hospital. Eighty percent of every individual’s health is impacted by the conditions in which they live, work, and play. In recent years, healthcare organizations have recognized the importance of collecting SDOH data and using it to improve the health of patients and communities. 

SDOH refers to the social and economic factors that impact an individual’s health and well-being such as: income, education level, employment status, housing conditions, and access to healthy food, transportation, and social support. SDOH information allows healthcare providers to tailor their services and interventions for individual patients. For instance, with SDOH data, care coordination teams are better able to identify when patients have barriers to accessing nutritious food and can connect them with local food assistance programs or schedule follow up appointments with nutrition services to address specific dietary needs. 

Additionally, they can provide patients with transportation options to ensure they can access needed resources effectively. Addressing these factors is important to a patient’s overall well-being and positively impacts their overall recovery. 

Hospital SDOH data collection can also promote enhanced collaboration and partnerships with community-based organizations. For instance, partnering with local housing organizations can help patients who are at risk of homelessness or living in unsafe conditions. Furthermore, collaboration with community health centers, nonprofit organizations, and faith-based organizations can help our care teams address the loneliness and social support needs that nearly one-third of adults experience and that lead to higher rates of depression, heart disease, and cognitive decline.

Patient-Experience Focused

Today’s healthcare landscape is dynamic and ever-changing. Quality and patient experience have become more important than ever before. Patients expect and deserve to receive the highest level of care at every touchpoint in their healthcare journey because, after all, their health and well-being are at stake. At Mary Greeley Medical Center, we believe what sets us apart is our unwavering commitment to delivering outstanding high-quality care that ensures each patient feels valued, heard, and respected. SDOH complements our other processes, including:

• Bedside shift reports: These ensure seamless transitions in care by involving patients in the handoff process, fostering transparency, and improving communication between healthcare teams. Hourly rounding reinforces a culture of proactive care by regularly checking in on patients, addressing their needs promptly, and proactively anticipating any potential issues. 
• MyChart Bedside: This offers personalized access to medical information, empowering patients to actively participate in their care decisions.
• Sonifi: Our interactive entertainment system not only entertains patients during their hospital stay, but also provides educational content to promote a more positive patient experience. 

The mission of Mary Greeley Medical Center is to advance health through specialized care and personal touch. As healthcare providers, we recognize that behind each of these data points is a person that deserves the very best from us. By enhancing the information available to our clinicians, we can provide the high-quality care Mary Greeley is known for, with consideration of each person’s unique needs. Our commitment to continuous improvement extends beyond the four walls of our organization and into the community we serve and through the lives of patients.