Health risk assessment surveys (HRAs) can help create a fuller picture of overall patient health. They can supplement information gathered during appointments, and can also help identify health risks, gaps in care, and medical needs. 

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All of this lets your healthcare providers offer patient-centered, personalized care based on peoples’ individual health needs and risk factors. 

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HRA surveys are typically conducted at patients’ annual examinations. They can also be sent for new patients, though. In either use case, it pays to automatically send the surveys and gather their results prior to appointments. Automated messages can streamline the survey process and help walk patients through the surveys simply and efficiently.

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Collecting HRA responses digitally and efficiently lets providers learn about patients’ needs ahead of the appointment. This frees up time for personalized care, discussion of health risks in the appointment, and mapping out preventive care plans proactively. 

Why Conduct Health Risk Assessment Surveys? 

There are regulations that require HRA surveys. For example, in 2012, CMS ruled that physicians must complete HRAs during annual wellness visits for patients with Medicare Part B.

The benefits of HRA surveys run deeper than meeting regulations and requirements, though. 

Health risk assessment surveys can be hugely beneficial for your team and your patients. HRAs help you understand patient health more deeply. In turn, this helps provide a higher level of care for the patient. 

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Collecting HRAs from patients can:

• Help identify gaps in care, health risks, or important health needs
• Ensure patient care is personalized
• Help providers provide appropriate clinical treatment or prescriptions
• Build a larger picture of patient health—and identify trends in patient data as a whole
• Streamline and strengthen patient-centered care due to deeper insight

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Sending these HRA surveys digitally can simplify the process significantly. With digital survey software (like Checkbox) you can automatically send surveys, update patient records, and follow up with patients.

When Should I Send Health Risk Assessment Surveys?

Two of the most common times to send health risk assessment surveys are: before new patient visits and before annual checkups.  

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For each of these, consider automating survey sending. This makes it easier for you and patients. You could send the survey a few days before the appointment, and then send an automated follow-up a day or two after that to prompt the patient to complete the survey. A simple setup when integrating Checkbox with Zapier. Or you can use scheduled sending within Checkbox and send the surveys for all those who have appointments coming up. 

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Sending the survey automatically a few days before the appointment gives the patient time to complete the survey, and gives the healthcare provider time to review the response before the appointment. This frees up important appointment time to focus on personalized care—and creating plans or follow-up questions based on the survey responses. 

Health Risk Assessment Survey Question Examples

1. How often do you get a health checkup? 
2. How many times per week do you engage in moderate to strenuous exercise? 
3. In the last 30 days, how many times have you used tobacco?
4. Over the past 2 weeks, how often have you felt nervous, anxious, or on edge?
5. Over the past 2 weeks, how often have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless?

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How Checkbox can Help

At Checkbox, we make healthcare surveys simple. How? 

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1. Ease of Use

Surveys are simple to complete—and manage—for patients and healthcare staff. No coding is required. Simply set up the survey in a couple of clicks and automate the rest, from sending it to patients to updating patient records, to responding.  

2. Security and Compliance

Checkbox offers HIPAA compliant survey software that is PIPEDA Ready. Run our survey software via SaaS or collect on-premises surveys/self-host. These different hosting options allow for iron-clad security for your data. 

Conclusion

Health Risk Assessment surveys are a fantastic opportunity to gain insights into patient health. 

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With a solid survey process, you can automatically gather patient health data, identify health risks, and map out preventative care plans. All of this helps create a fuller understanding of the patient’s needs, which in turn helps healthcare providers offer more personalized and patient-centered care. 

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To see Checkbox in action for health risk assessment surveys, simply request a demo of the tool here.

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