Is Cost The Only Reason Patients Cancel Surgery?
Late Surgery Cancellations Fell From 12.2% to 4.5% (Riverside Hospital)
• Riverside Hospital's estimated surgery downtime impact was reduced by $347,000 per year.
• Pre-surgery education labour dropped from 288 hours to 12 hours per year.
• Patients received clearer guidance before surgery, without adding more manual staff follow-up.
Norwalk Hospital Linked Structured Patient Education to Fewer Cancellations
• Norwalk Hospital introduced its total joint replacement center of excellence in 2012 to improve length of stay, discharge home, and patient satisfaction.
• Five years after implementation, Becker’s reported the program ranked in the 75th percentile among 300 hospitals across measures including length of stay, discharge home, readmissions, blood transfusions, distance walked, and patient satisfaction.
• Dr. Nicholas Polifroni said structured preoperative patient education, combined with the standardized joint program, helped reduce cancellations.
• Dr. Nicholas Polifroni also cited fewer episodes of noncompliance with visits, exercises, and physical therapy.
How Did Riverside Hospital Achieve Their Success?
Riverside used a digital patient engagement platform, which combined SMS/email outreach, personalized microsites, pre-surgery education, reminders, surveys, and staged guidance.
01.
SMS & Email Outreach
Patients received automated reminders and education by SMS and email, instead of relying only on phone calls, handouts, or in-person classes.
02.
Stage-Based Education
Patients were sent the right information before, during, and after total hip or knee replacement, so education matched where they were in the journey.
03.
Personalized Microsites
Patients were directed to digital pages with surgery education, instructions, next steps, and patient-specific guidance.
04.
Prehab & Outcome Surveys
Riverside added prehab assessments and KOOS / HOOS surveys, giving patients structured checkpoints before surgery and at follow-up intervals.
05.
Patient Feedback Loop
Survey responses gave the clinical team a clearer view of patient readiness, recovery, and where support may be needed.
06.
Less Manual Chasing
By moving education and check-ins into a repeatable digital pathway, staff could spend less time manually repeating the same instructions.
Use a Lighter Version of Riverside’s Follow-Up System
Riverside used a full patient engagement platform. Your practice can start with a lighter version: a sequence of follow-up emails and patient education pages sent after a hip or knee replacement recommendation.
01.
Understand the messaging sequence after recommending surgery
See how follow-up could be spaced over the first few weeks, with each message addressing a different patient question or concern.
02.
Review the emails your patients will receive
See an example written for a patient who has received a surgical recommendation but has not yet scheduled.
03.
See how your patient's concerns could be identified
See how your patients could indicate whether they still have questions, need more time, or are ready to speak with the practice.
04.
Understand how your staff could use the responses
See how patient responses could help your staff decide who requires contact and what type of follow-up may be appropriate.
Educate Your Patients Before They Cancel Surgery
Give your patients clearer answers before uncertainty turns into delay, turning to second opinions, or late cancellations.
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