Kansas City, KS -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/23/2015 -- From more accessible care, made possible by the Affordable Care Act, to facilities' and caretakers' increased focus on patient comfort, several positive shifts have occurred across the healthcare landscape in the past several years. Especially in the case of patient comfort, many of these shifts have taken the form of improvements to patient amenities. However, one factor that requires improvement—rate of readmission—can be greatly impacted not through material comforts, but through communication.
ImageFIRST Kansas City, a medical linen and laundry service that serves healthcare facilities in the Kansas City metro area, recently shared a Becker's Healthcare article entitled "What factor has the biggest impact on readmission rates?" with its clients. The article is based on the findings of a study by Claire Senot and Aravind Chandrasekaran, the results of which were published in the Harvard Business Review.
According to Senot and Chandrasekaran's study, which gathered data from 3,000 hospitals over the course of six years, communication between patients and caregivers has the biggest impact on readmission rates, with clearer and more frequent communication resulting in lower readmission rates.
In fact, Senot and Chandrasekaran report that when hospitals prioritize communication with patients (in the form of having meaningful conversations with patients and responding to their explicit needs, for example), these facilities can reduce their readmission rate by 5%.
As a provider of medical linen and laundry, ImageFIRST Kansas City understands the importance of communication for a flawless customer experience first-hand. ImageFIRST is dedicated to helping their clients improve their patients' experience with high-quality, sanitized linen and garments. Just as ImageFIRST's clients communicate with their patients for better results, ImageFIRST prioritizes communication with its clients.
The ImageFIRST Customer Advocate is the key point of contact for each of their clients. More than just a linen delivery associate, Customer Advocates provide a variety of support in the form of inventory management, proper handling of linen and addressing inventory emergencies. ImageFIRST Kansas City also gives clients direct access to their Customer Advocates' cell phone number, as well as other Service team members in the form of their Instant Service App, a smartphone app that keeps clients in contact with ImageFIRST associates, just in case the client misplaces their phone number. This dedication to clear, open communication allows ImageFIRST's clients to invest more time and energy into communicating with their own patients for the best care experience possible.
To learn more about ImageFIRST Kansas City, visit http://kansas-city.imagefirst.com/
About ImageFIRST
Founded in 1967, ImageFIRST is the largest and fastest growing national linen rental and laundry service specializing in the outpatient medical market. ImageFIRST's 36 locations nationwide serve over 5,500 medical offices every week, providing linen, patient gowns, scrubs and much more while partnering with facilities to better manage linen inventory. With a customer retention rate of over 95%, ImageFIRST is dedicated to improving patient satisfaction through quality linens and remarkable service: their Comfort Care gowns product line increases patients' favorable perception of a facility by more than 50%.
For more information about ImageFIRST Kansas City, the cost-effective solution for greater patient satisfaction, please visit
http://kansas-city.imagefirst.com/