Emmi increases patient engagement in sleep centers; rollout scheduled for GI

Emmi Engage – the educational component of Emmi patient education programs – launched in the sleep centers at all Yale New Haven Health System delivery networks last July, and initial results show a high rate of patient engagement and satisfaction. Emmi Engage includes interactive multimedia programs and articles that supplement and reinforce key messages patients receive during their office visits or hospital stays. Since the launch, more than 2,500 programs have been assigned to patients. According to initial survey results:

• Eighty-five percent of patients who responded said the assigned Emmi programs answered questions that would otherwise have necessitated a call to the healthcare provider.
• Eighty percent of patients said the assigned Emmi programs were useful for providing new information and 92 percent said the programs prepared them for the procedure.
• More than 60 percent of patients reported that the Emmi programs motivated them to take their medications.
• Seventy-five percent said the programs made them more aware of how their lifestyle impacts their health.

The next rollout of Emmi Engage programs is scheduled for gastroenterology services health system-wide later this month. Any healthcare provider with access to the Epic patient education tab (nurses, medical assistants, care coordinators, physicians and others) can assign Emmi programs, although modules will primarily be automatically assigned based on scheduled procedures. Programs assigned directly through Epic are integrated into the patient's MyChart account. Patients receive an email and a note in MyChart with instructions and an 11-digit access code for the specific programs assigned.

Scheduled Emmi Prevent outreach campaigns include:

• Diabetes office visits and eye exams for patients with diabetes who have not had an office visit in more than a year.
• Flu vaccine, round two: Scheduled to begin Jan. 25.
• Recommendation for annual wellness visits (ages 65+): For patients who have not had a preventive office visit in more than one year. Scheduled to begin Feb. 15.
• Annual wellness visits (ages 50-64): Specific details about inclusion and exclusion criteria will be sent to practices and physicians before the campaign starts.

Based on feedback from prior campaigns, calls will be staggered over several days to spread out patients' contact with offices. Office managers will receive a list of the exact criteria for calls, scripts and list of patients before the start of each campaign to help with planning (and eliminate patients who are not appropriate to call).

For questions about Emmi, contact Jeanne Radawich, 203-680-1910 or [email protected].