Quality Improvement Commons^™

Perioperative Family Updates Reduce Anxiety And Improve Satisfaction: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Lindsay S. Howe, Daniel Wigmore, Nathaniel Nelms, Patrick Schottel, Craig Bartlett, David Halsey, Martin Krag, David Lunardini, Robert Monsey, Bruce Beynnon, Michael Blankstein

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: This study aimed to determine if standardized updates at specific perioperative events affect anxiety and satisfaction of the family members and if the length of surgical procedure affects the satisfaction with updates.

Methods: This study was a randomized control trial. In the control group, surgeons communicated with the family only once near the completion of the procedure. In the intervention group, families received electronic updates at 3 significant perioperative events during the procedure. A postoperative survey rating family member satisfaction and anxiety levels, using a Likert scale of 0–5, was administered.

Results: Mean level of overall satisfaction did not …

Impact Of Wait Times, Perception Of Care And Environment On Patient Satisfaction At Infusion Centers And Dialysis Centers, Ke Li Yew

Dissertations and Theses

Waiting time is a significant component of patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction is an increasingly important parameter in assessing the quality of care. Understanding the most important factors impacting overall satisfaction can help health care administrators and providers improve patient care. Numerous studies showed that there is a strong and negative relationship between wait times and patient satisfaction at ambulatory clinics, orthopedic clinics, endocrinology clinics or emergency rooms. However, patient satisfaction at infusion centers and dialysis centers has not been widely studied. This study aimed to investigate relationships between perceived waiting times, perception of care and environment and patient satisfaction at …

Effective Communication: A Vital Skill In Healthcare, Allison Crabtree

Presentations, Proceedings & Performances

Members of the healthcare team conduct thousands of patient and peer interactions over the course of a career. The call to action from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report on Health Professions and Training stresses the importance of communication training for all members of the healthcare team. As with other healthcare procedures, communication skills can be learned and improved upon, but requires commitment and practice.

Given the wealth of evidence linking ineffective clinician-patient communication with increased malpractice risks, patient nonadherence, patient and clinician dissatisfaction, and poor patient health outcomes, the necessity of addressing communication skills deficits is of utmost importance

Informing Quality In Emergency Care: Understanding Patient Experiences, Esmat Swallmeh, Vivienne Byers, Amr Arisha

Articles

Purpose: Assessing performance and quality in healthcare organisations is moving from focussing solely on clinical care measurement to considering the patient experience as critical. Much patient experience research is quantitative and survey based. The purpose of this paper is to report a qualitative study gathering in-depth data in an emergency department (ED).

Design/methodology/approach: The authors used empirical data from seven focus groups to understand patient experience as participants progressed through a major teaching hospital in an Ireland ED. A convenience sampling technique was used, and 42 participants were invited to share their perceptions and outline key factors affecting their journey. …

Patient Satisfaction Among Users Of The After Hours Program, Helen L. Larocco

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

The problem of increasing health care costs and decreasing access to health care services is a major crisis in the U.S. today. One factor contributing to the rising cost of health care is the inappropriate use of emergency rooms, (ERs). In response to escalating costs a local health care corporation implemented a telephone triage program called the After Hours Program, (AHP). The goal of the program was to reduce inappropriate utilization of emergency rooms, and to educate patients to recognize and treat specific health problems independently, i.e., home treatment.

A program evaluation was completed in which different dimensions of patient …