Health Information Technology Commons^™

Perceptive Responses And Familiar Staff Facilitate Meaningful Engagement Of Older Adults And Family/Care Partners In Long-Term Care Home Implementation Science Research During Covid-19, Marie-Lee Yous, Denise M. Connelly, Ruthie Zhuang, Melissa E. Hay, Anna Garnett, Lillian Hung, Nancy Snobelen, Harrison Gao, Ken Criferg, Cherie Furlan-Craievich, Shannon Snelgrove, Melissa Babcock, Jacqueline Ripley

Patient Experience Journal

A novel registered practical nurse-led video conferencing approach using PIECES^TM for team-based care planning was developed to engage family/care partners in the care of older adults. The objectives were to: (a) explore the experiences of older adults and family/care partners in collaborating in implementation science research in long-term care (LTC); (b) identify facilitators and barriers to engaging older adults and family/care partners in implementation science research; and (c) share recommendations to support the engagement of older adults and family/care partners in research. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Two older adults and two family/care partners from two Canadian LTC …

Leveraging Telehealth Supportive Oncology Services To Combat Covid-19 Isolation In Breast Cancer Patients: A Cancer Center’S Perspective, Jake R. Erickson, Maranda K. Pahlkotter, Paul D. Thielking, Jane M. Porretta, Regina Rosenthal, Cindy B. Matsen, Kirstyn E. Brownson

Patient Experience Journal

During the COVID-19 pandemic, breast cancer patient in-person visits were converted to telehealth visits. Given our concerns about increased isolation amongst breast cancer patients during the pandemic, and the deleterious effects of such isolation on patient outcomes, we investigated utilization rates of psycho-social services amongst newly diagnosed breast cancer patients at our institution. We explored visit platforms (telehealth versus in-person) and time points prior to and encompassing the early pandemic. Despite decreased new breast cancer visits, there was a greater than 2-fold increase in supportive oncology service encounters in breast cancer patients during COVID-19 suggesting increased need for psycho-oncology resources. …

How Are The Vibes? Patient And Family Experiences Of Rapport During Telehealth Calls In Palliative Care, Wendy English, Jackie Robinson, Merryn Gott

Patient Experience Journal

Interactions with rapport are considered essential to palliative care and beneficial to patient outcomes. With the current interest in telehealth, more knowledge is needed about rapport during telehealth encounters in palliative care from the patient and family viewpoint. The objective of this study was to explore patient and family experiences of rapport with health professionals during telehealth interactions in the community palliative care setting. This was a qualitative Interpretive Description study, with 18 patients and 11 family member participants recruited from four hospice locations in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and audio recorded between November 2020 and May …

“Feedback Is Indeed A Dainty Dish To Set Before The Trust”: Comparing How Online Patient Feedback Is Responded To And Used Across Three Hospital Trusts In England, Lauren P. Ramsey Dr, Laura Sheard Dr, Rebecca Lawton Professor, Jane O'Hara Dr

Patient Experience Journal

Patients are increasingly reporting about their healthcare experiences in an unsolicited manner online. This emerging resource may offer valuable opportunities for organisational learning. Our study aimed to compare how online patient feedback was responded to and used for improvement in three hospital Trusts. Ethnographic data were collected across three hospital Trusts in England, recruited according to the way they responded to online patient feedback. Findings from three case studies were brought together using a reflexive thematic analysis approach, via a multi-case analysis. Three key themes were highlighted. Firstly, the organisational rationale for engaging with patient feedback influenced levels of compassion …

Draws And Windfalls: Comparing Patient Experiences In Inpatient Telehealth And Non-Telehealth Acute Care Units, Geoffrey A. Silvera, Erin Blanchard, Varun Natarajan, Eric Wallace, William Steve Stigler, Bart Kelly, Terri Scarborough, Sue S. Feldman

Patient Experience Journal

The global COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health care delivery in many ways. One solution from the pandemic that offers potential upside is the expansion of telehealth as a means to provide high quality, cost-effective, and safe care while also maintaining excellence in patient and family experience. While most examinations of the use of telehealth over the pandemic have focused on the expansion of outpatient telehealth, few have explored the use of telehealth for hospitalized patients. This article will examine the influence of telehealth use on patient experiences among acute care patients. Inpatient telehealth acute care (ITAC) is a …

A Patient Perspective On Information Provision During The Care Path Of Lentigo Maligna, Louis P. Ter Meer, Marleen De Mul, Jan Hazelzet, Clemens Van Eijk

Patient Experience Journal

Patients sometimes experience complex diagnostic and treatment procedures. During these processes, they need to rely on the information provided by the care providers. In particular, if they would like to play an active role in the shared decision-making process, it is important that this information is accessible, complete and understandable. A patient with Lentigo Maligna on the nose has been followed during the process of diagnosis, shared decision-making and treatment. Using the autoethnographical methodology, it was evaluated which sources of information available to the patient contributed to a better understanding, a more active role in the treatment process and a …

Mystay – Development Of Nurse-Facilitated Condition-Specific Multimedia Resources To Facilitate Patient Participation In Postoperative Care, Jo Mcdonall, Anastasia F. Hutchinson, Natalie Heynesbergh, Bernice Redley, Richard De Steiger, Damien Khaw, Mari Botti

Patient Experience Journal

Improved postoperative outcomes and the global drive toward the provision of patient-centred care underpins efforts to enhance the nature and capacity of patient participation in acute postoperative hospital care. In this paper, we describe the design, framework and processes used to develop a modular, procedure-specific, digital health intervention platform aimed at improving the patient experience and patient participation in care following surgery. The intervention, a multimedia application MyStay, uses bedside delivery of audio-visual and text-based information to engage postoperative patients to better participate in their care. MyStay modules are developed using an iterative, multi-method approach intended to balance procedure-specific best …

Outpatient Visit Modality And Parallel Patient Satisfaction: A Multi-Site Cohort Analysis Of Telemedicine And In-Person Visits During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicole J. Ploog, Jordan Coffey, Laurie Wilshusen, Bart Demaerschalk

Patient Experience Journal

Telemedicine approaches provide many benefits to patients across both primary and specialty care. Patient acceptance is imperative to successful telemedicine implementation. As telemedicine utilization continues to surge, it is imperative that healthcare organizations have a method for evaluating the patient experience with these types of visits. Previous studies on experience with telemedicine have focused on smaller patient populations with narrow inclusion criteria and limited geographical reach. This research described how patients’ satisfaction with video telemedicine-based visits varied based on patient characteristics and how they compare with in-person visits. We obtained and analyzed results from standardized patient experience surveys to compare …

Patient Experience Of The Electronic Health Record (Ehr) In A Maternity Unit In Ireland, Joye Mckernan, Paul Corcoran Dr, Richard A. Greene Professor

Patient Experience Journal

The introduction of the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) for maternity services in Ireland provided an opportunity to examine patient satisfaction and to examine what patients require from an Electronic Health Record. The implementation of the EHR in Ireland started in 2016, and at present, four of the 19 maternity units are digital. Patients at antenatal booking visits in an Irish maternity unit were invited to participate in the project. The invite was taken up by 201 women. The survey took 10-15 minutes to complete. The survey was conducted nine months following the implementation of the MN-CMS. The survey was anonymous …

Patient And Provider Experiences With Virtual Care During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study, Mars Zhao, Hisham Elshoni, Jennifer O'Brien, Erin Barbour-Tuck, Mary Ellen Walker, Heather Dyck, Andrea Vasquez, Eric Sy, Angela Baerwald, Clara Michaels, Rejina Kamrul, Olivia Reis, Brenda Schuster, Barb Beaurivage, Adam Clay, Mark Lees, Jonathan Gamble

Patient Experience Journal

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the rapid uptake of Virtual Care (VC). Positive patient outcomes with VC are previously reported but little is known about the experiences of patients and providers using VC during the pandemic. We aimed to describe patient and primary care provider experiences, satisfaction, perceptions, and attitudes to VC during the COVID-19 pandemic that might explain adoption of VC across the continuum of care and inform sustained uptake. We conducted a sequential explanatory mixed methods study using online surveys and virtual interviews with a convenience sample of primary care providers and patients in a Canadian province (July – …

Positively Waiting: Technology As The Preferred Distractor In A Pediatric Outpatient Setting, Timothy Ernest, Victoria Maddex, Arnaldo Mejias, Lindy Davidson, Donna Ettel-Gambino

Patient Experience Journal

Visiting any pediatric outpatient clinic as a child may be considered a stressful and anxiety-inducing experience. The literature suggests that positive distractions, such as pet therapy and single-user electronic devices, may aid in reducing anxiety and maximizing patient satisfaction throughout the patient’s experience at a pediatric outpatient clinic. The aim of this pilot quality improvement project was to determine which positive distractions patients experienced and whether single-user electronic loaner devices should be provided to patients at pediatric outpatient facilities. A quantitative causal comparative approach was utilized in identifying patient exposure to key positive distraction techniques that may significantly decrease anxiety. …

Patient Involvement In The Development Of Proms Within The Ms Field: A Systematic Review, Signe Baattrup Reitzel, Melinda Magyari, Lasse Skovgaard, Maria Kristiansen

Patient Experience Journal

This review reports on the development of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), published within the past ten years, for people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Moreover, this review evaluates the extent to which patient participation was integrated in the development of the PROMs. A systematic review was conducted, and four relevant articles were extracted, from which nine PROMs were identified. Patient involvement in the development phase was identified in three PROMs. The results emphasize the need for more patient involvement in the development of new MS-specific PROMs to ensure that the measures reflect the needs and priorities of PwMS.

Experience Framework

This …

The Rapid Increase In Telemedicine Visits During Covid-19, Chelsea Johnson, Kathryn Taff, Brian R. Lee, Amanda Montalbano

Patient Experience Journal

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, facilitated telemedicine encounters were available at outreach locations; however, our tertiary children’s hospital had not invested widely in direct to patient telemedicine. Our daily pediatric subspecialty visits dropped from an average of 2066 visits a day prior to COVID-19 in our community to 1000 patients a day during the study period. Over the four-week period from April 15 to May 12, 2020, patient and family experience ratings of percentage of positive responses (9 or 10) on the provider rating 0-10 scale between telemedicine and in-person visits were compared for our pediatric subspecialty clinics using a …

Seven Steps To Successful Change: How A Large Academic Medical Center Prepared Patients For Organizational Change, Brian Carlson, Madison Agee, Terrell Smith, Paul Sternberg Jr, Jason Morgan

Patient Experience Journal

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) launched a new electronic health record (EHR) in a “big bang” implementation that saw the new software go live across multiple hospitals, clinics and geographic locations in a single morning. The organization rightly focused most of its energy on preparing its nearly 25,000 employees for the impacts of the transition, but it also considered the effects that would be felt by its patients and families. Survey data indicate that patient satisfaction scores demonstrably dip before, during and after an EHR implementation, and take approximately a year to recover. A team at DMC employed a seven-step …

Engagement Of Patients With Scleroderma To Revise An Internet Self-Management Program, Janet L. Poole, Sharon L. Newbill, Jennifer Serrano, Dana Rosson, Josephine Battyany, Laura Dyas, Luke Evnin, Dennis W. Raisch, Cynthia Maxwell, Mary Alore, Saville Kellner, Pedro Cuencas, Richard M. Silver, Dinesh Khanna

Patient Experience Journal

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) or scleroderma is a rare connective tissue disease. Many people do not have access to education programs. A self-management program was developed several years ago based on the literature and input from people with SSc. However, new therapies and treatment options have been developed since the program was developed. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and remedy gaps in an internet SSc self-management program to improve the quality of critical information relevant to effective management of the disease. Six focus groups with 30 participants with SSc were conducted: 2 telephone groups and 4 face-to-face …

Involving Patients And Families In A Social Robot Study, Lillian Hung, Annette Berndt, Christine Wallsworth, Neil Horne, Mario Gregorio, Jim Mann, Cindy Liu, Evan Woldum, Andy Au-Yeung, Habib Chaudhury

Patient Experience Journal

Innovative research in care practice for older people can benefit from the active involvement of patient and family partners. Involvement may begin with identifying priorities, then move to formulate research questions and to plan the research methods, to data collection, and finally to analysis and knowledge dissemination. However, in the field of dementia care, actively engaging patients and families in co-research is a novel practice that needs exploration. This paper describes the experiences and perspectives of two patient researchers and three family researchers, along with four clinicians (two physicians, a nurse, and an occupational therapist) within a social robot project …

A Next-Day, Brief E-Survey Overcomes The Excessive Variability Seen In Cahps-Style Emergency Department Surveys So That Individual Physician Performance Can Be Assessed On A Regular Basis, Tom Scaletta, Eva Hare, Christopher Sung Lee

Patient Experience Journal

Traditional CAHPS-style emergency department (ED) surveys result in excessive variability when assessing individual physician performance. The objective of this study is to measure the variability of a brief, electronic survey (e-survey). The study team also measured the association of individual physicians to demographic data, physician and patient factors, and a physician burnout assessment tool. Data from SmartContact (SmartER, La Grange, IL) is a next-day, e-survey that takes about 30-seconds to complete. This tool was used by a hospital-employed emergency department (ED) group during calendar year 2017 across 2 EDs and 37 physicians.^1,2 Variability was estimated regarding raw patient experience …

Beneath The Surface Of Talking About Physicians: A Statistical Model Of Language For Patient Experience Comments, Taylor Turpen, Lea Matthews Md, Senem Guney Phd, Cpxp

Patient Experience Journal

This study applies natural language processing (NLP) techniques to patient experience comments. Our goal was to examine the language describing care experiences with two groups of physicians: those with scores in the top 100 and those with scores in the bottom 100 among all physicians (n=498) who received scores from patient satisfaction surveys. Our analysis showed a statistically significant difference in the language used to describe care experiences with these two distinct groups of physicians. This analysis illustrates how to apply NLP techniques in categorizing and building a statistical model for language use in order to identify meaningful language and …

How Do Healthcare Staff Respond To Patient Experience Feedback Online? A Typology Of Responses Published On Care Opinion, Lauren Paige Ramsey, Laura Sheard Dr, Rebecca Lawton Professor, Jane O'Hara Dr

Patient Experience Journal

Patients are increasingly describing their healthcare experiences publicly online. This has been facilitated by digital technology, a growing focus on transparency in healthcare and the emergence of a feedback culture in many sectors. Due to this area being previously unexplored, the objective of this study was to identify a typology of responses that healthcare staff provide on Care Opinion (www.careopinion.org.uk), a not-for-profit online platform on which patients are able to provide narrative feedback about health and social care in the UK. Framework analysis was used to qualitatively analyse a purposive sample of 486 stories regarding hospital care, and their 475 …

Socio-Demographic Predictors Associated With Capacity To Engage In Health Care, Ran Sun, Linden Wu, Scott Barnett, Patsy Deyo, Ellen Swartwout

Patient Experience Journal

Patient engagement is essential to improve outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. This study aimed to examine the socio-demographic factors associated with one’s capacity to engage in their health care. An observational, cross-sectional study was performed including patients from five medical/surgical units of four health systems. Patients’ engagement capacity was assessed using the person engagement index (PEI) instrument which contains four subscales: engagement in health care, technology use in health care, proactive approach to health care, and psychosocial support for health care. Separate general linear models were applied for the PEI total score and each of the four subscale scores. Our …

Assessing Capacity To Engage In Healthcare To Improve The Patient Experience Through Health Information Technology, Cynthia J. Sieck, Daniel M. Walker, Megan Gregory, Naleef Fareed, Jennifer L. Hefner

Patient Experience Journal

Patient engagement is viewed as a means to improve patient care, increase population health, and decrease health care costs. Efforts to improve engagement are prevalent across healthcare, particularly through health information technology (HIT) tools such as patient portals. However, we know that not all patients have the same ability to engage, leading to potential disparities. We present the Engagement Capacity Framework and suggest that examining capacity for engagement would improve our ability to address currently unmeasured factors that facilitate engagement. The objective was to examine factors that influence an individual’s capacity for engagement through HIT. We administered a paper survey …

A Patient Portal Push Toward Acceptance And Utilization Of The Technology, Deborah Kornacker Dnp, Rn, Kathy Fitzgerald Ph.D., Rn, Stacie Elder Ph.D.,Rn, Cne

Patient Experience Journal

Certified electronic health record technology (c-EHRT) has the capacity to enhance person-centered care through online engagement between providers and patients. A driver to portal use is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Meaningful Use (MU) benchmarks. Currently, many health care centers and providers fall short in attracting patients to register and utilize online patient portals thus influencing optimal utilization of the EHR. Barriers cited in the literature include lack of stakeholder interest, multiple government policy and mandates, and lack of resources to implement standards for health information technology (HIT) standards in daily professional workflow. This program evaluation focused on …

Technology, Innovation And Transforming Healthcare Faster, Smarter And Together: A Conversation With Dr. Rasu Shrestha, Jason A. Wolf Phd, Cpxp

Patient Experience Journal

As part of our special issue on Innovation and Technology we had the pleasure of speaking with a visionary leader, Physician and healthcare executive, Dr. Rasu Shrestha, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Atrium Health. In the conversation with Dr. Shrestha we were able to cover the foundational ideas of innovation and technology. We also explored its opportunities and potential pitfalls. Ultimately, we looked at the topic through the lenses of the human experience we provide in healthcare and how through a clear focus on experience and the effective integration of innovation and technology in those efforts, we …

Transformations In Health Information Technology And The Impact On Patient Experience, Cynthia J. Sieck Phd, Mph, Tim R. Huerta Phd, Ms

Patient Experience Journal

Changes in the way we collect and use health information, and the technology that enables these processes, have transformed the patient experience in health care. Compared to an earlier focus on using health information technology (HIT) for clinical purposes, patients are now also significant users of HIT, spurring the development of Patient-Facing Health Information Technology (PFHIT). These tools allow patients to use and interact with their health information and healthcare providers is new and transformative ways. We suggest that while these transformations have significant positive impacts, there are three important considerations which must be included as HIT continues to evolve: …

Reframing Innovation And Technology For Healthcare: A Commitment To The Human Experience, Jason A. Wolf Phd, Cpxp

Patient Experience Journal

This latest special issue of Patient Experience Journal focuses on the role of technology and innovation in patient experience. The articles included in this issue help us think about the ideas of innovation and health information technology (HIT) in some new and interesting ways. They also have us push the boundaries of what has framed what innovation and technology application look like in healthcare today. With this perspective, we explore the idea that HIT is not simply a process improvement tool; it is a means to elevate the human interactions at the heart of healthcare. Simultaneously in healthcare, innovation has …

Representing The Patient Experience Of Heart Failure Through Empathy, Journey And Stakeholder Mapping, Leanna Woods, Jed Duff, Erin Roehrer, Kim Walker, Elizabeth Cummings

Patient Experience Journal

Heart failure is a long-term condition requiring those affected to manage numerous self-care related activities. People with heart failure report multiple challenges accommodating self-care activities in their every-day life. The aim of this study is to (1) understand the experience of people with heart failure and their caregivers in the local patient population, and (2) visually represent these experiences to inform the design of a mobile health intervention supporting self-care. Seven patients and four family caregivers were interviewed using an empathic approach. Data was collected using rapid design methods including an empathy map to uncover patient and caregiver perspectives and …

Improving The Patient Experience Through Patient Portals: Insights From Experienced Portal Users, Cynthia J. Sieck, Jennifer L. Hefner, Ann Scheck Mcalearney

Patient Experience Journal

Background: Patient portals have become part of the ecosystem of care as both patients and providers use them for a range of activities both individually and collaboratively. As patients and providers gain greater experience using portals, their use and needs related to portals may evolve. Objective: This study aimed to learn from experienced patient portal users to improve our understanding of their perspectives on portal use for collaboration and engagement as well as explore how using a portal influenced their experiences with primary care providers. Methods: Qualitative study involving 29 semi-structured interviews with family medicine patients from a large Academic …

An Exploration Of Patients’ Experience Of Nurses’ Use Of Point-Of-Care Information Technology In Acute Care, Leigh Mcnicol, Anastasia F. Hutchinson, Beverley Wood, Mari Botti, Bernice Redley

Patient Experience Journal

The rapid introduction of technology into acute healthcare settings, specifically the presence of point-of-care health information technology at patients’ bedsides, is expected to impact patients’ healthcare experience by altering nurse-patient interactions. This research was a multi-method naturalistic pilot study designed to explore patients’ perception of their interactions with nurses using bedside point-of-care health information technology in acute care. Data were collected using observation, interviews and surveys. Twenty-four participants were purposefully recruited from medical and surgical wards, to capture variability in their self-reported confidence with information technology; 29% were not confident, 38% were somewhat confident and 33% were completely confident with …

When One Is Sick And Two Need Help: Caregivers’ Perspectives On The Negative Consequences Of Caring, Ilja Ormel, Susan Law, Courtney Abbott, Mark Yaffe, Marc Saint-Cyr, Kerry Kuluski, Debbie Josephson, Ann C. Macaulay

Patient Experience Journal

Informal or family caregivers contribute significantly to individual care, and to the Canadian healthcare system, yet receive limited support from governments, institutions, and healthcare professionals in recognition of their role, or in response to their health and social care needs – often due to the negative consequences of caregiving. Learning about the diversity of others’ experiences can positively influence personal decision-making, reduce feelings of isolation, as well as promote adjustment to a personal situation. For caregivers, however, few resources exist that provide reliable information on others’ experiences. We collected the narratives of caregivers’ experiences of caring for someone with a …

Can Social Media Reduce Discrimination And Ignorance Towards Patients With Long Term Conditions? A Chronic Kidney Disease Example In The Uk And More Widely, Shahid N. Muhammad, Amy J. Zahra, Howard J. Leicester, Heather Davis, Stephen Davis

Patient Experience Journal

Long Term Conditions (LTCs) are increasing in prevalence and cost in Western healthcare. Patients with such conditions are often classed as “disabled”, because of impacts of self-care on “activities of daily life” or secondary consequences of conditions (impairments) affecting factors such as mobility, concentration and communications. Disability needs are often ignored in the design of services and treatment of individuals. It manifests as services which some find difficult to use and lack of personal respect (discrimination) often based on lack of understanding by the healthcare profession itself (ignorance). This paper explores how Social Media (SM), an example “Assistive Technology” in …