Effects of Providing Patients a Direct Phone Number to Surgeon in a Military Hospital

Abstract

Ineffective communication remains a critical issue in healthcare today, leading to worse care for patients and billions of dollars lost in inefficiencies, gaps in care, and lawsuits. One idea to improve communication is to provide patients with a direct phone line to a surgeon. Our institution trialed this idea by providing all surgical patients with a direct phone line to a general surgery resident. By surveying patients before and after implementation of the direct-access resident cell phone, we sought to determine if patients were more satisfied with their care and/or utilized hospital resources differently. Overall, we found no significant differences in patient satisfaction or perceived ease of access to care. We did, however, find that the phone line implementation decreased patients’ ED visits, readmissions, and self-reported complications. Therefore, we conclude that a direct phone line to a surgeon is beneficial in the military patient population as it is in the civilian one, and the decision to use a direct phone line, or similar other direct communication methods, should be promoted to all practices.