Healthcare
professionals can incorporate more patient preferences into their care delivery
by collecting their perspectives through surveys or patient advisory councils.
By Sara Heath
December 01,
2016 - Understanding and incorporating patient preferences into
provider care delivery should prove useful to improving patient satisfaction
and clinical outcomes. With these preferences in mind, providers can tailor
care strategies capable of being more effective and resulting in higher patient
satisfaction.
In fact, as patients
become healthcare consumers, understanding their
needs may have assumed greater importance. Healthcare organizations that manage
to incorporate patient preferences into their practices may even be more likely
to succeed in a changing reimbursement structure than those who do not.
But providers are likely not utilizing patient preference data
effectively. According to a survey from Kaufman, Hall &
Associates, only 16 percent of healthcare organizations integrate patient
feedback and preferences into clinical practices, despite the fact that 66
percent agree it’s important to do so.
“As consumers
increasingly shop for lower prices and better experience, applying consumer
understanding will be key to succeeding in the face of competition that ‘will
come from places we can’t even imagine right now,’ said one respondent,” the
researchers reported.
In an effort to
remain competitive, healthcare organizations will keep a finger on the pulse of
patient needs and determine how best to integrate those needs into their
clinical workflows. Below, PatientEngagementHIT.com offers
examples of how some practices are already doing that.
Surveying patients
about their needs
For many providers, a
logical option for understanding patient needs is going
right to the source using survey techniques. That’s what Cory Siegel, MD, did
when trying to determine treatment paths for his ulcerative colitis patients.
When working to make
patients part of the decision-making process, Siegel surveyed his ulcerative
patients to discover what concerns they had with their three treatment options.
What he discovered, however, was that patients were most concerned with the
disease’s potential complications, not treatment.
This facilitated a
process that was fundamentally patient-centric, he said. Instead of acting on
his assumption – that patients were conflicted about ulcerative colitis
treatment – Siegel asked patients what they needed. This made the process about
the patient instead of the provider.
“We really need to
understand what patients are most fearful of and most concerned about and what
they want to talk about because otherwise it becomes a very provider-centric
program as opposed to a patient-centric program,” explained Siegel, Associate
Professor of Medicine and the Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center
at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
While Siegel’s
research ultimately informed a communication platform for him and his
ulcerative colitis patients, he acknowledged that it had larger implications
for all his patient encounters.
“We didn’t just build
a communications tool to teach our patients about their disease and treatments
based on what doctors thought was important to tell them,” Siegel concluded.
“We went to patients first to understand what they needed to hear and what they
wanted to hear and what they’re most fearful of so we can address it.”
Setting up patient
advisory boards
On a larger scale,
healthcare organizations can still turn to patients for guidance using patient advisory councils (PACs).
According to research in the Journal of the American Board of Family
Medicine, PACs can be extremely effective.
“PACs are groups of
patients, family members, and caregivers who meet on a regular basis to help
identify practice improvement priorities and support practice improvement
projects in collaboration with clinic staff members and leaders,” the
researchers wrote. “There is case-based evidence that inpatient advisory
councils have had a positive effect on patient safety and readmissions.”
Through qualitative
interviews with both patient and provider PAC participants, the researchers
found that through council support these bodies can be effective and worth the
effort they usually require.
“In our study, both
patients and staff working with high-functioning PACs believed that their
activities had a positive influence on clinic programs, clinic culture, and
patient care,” the researchers said. “Although respondents did not describe
metrics of success, there was overarching concordance that working with a PAC
was worth the time it takes.”
The surveyed PAC
members were successful because they followed similar structural models,
including properly vetting patient council members to ensure diversity and
teamwork, facilitating productive meetings, holding staff accountable for
carrying out PAC initiatives, and spreading awareness about the PAC across the
healthcare organization.
Just as individual
providers might be successful at integrating patient preferences simply by
surveying their patients, entire organizations can make patient-centered
improvements by consulting an organized patient body.
Meeting patient needs
to boost overall experience
While considering
patient preferences and satisfaction in a facility environment may seem
inconsequential, it may actually have a significant effect. After all,
environment and facility conditions contribute to overall patient experience —
and are part of HCAHPS and patient satisfaction scores.
Because these scores
affect some Medicare reimbursements, healthcare organizations should consider
patient preferences when assessing their hospital environments.
Nemours Children’s
Health System did just that when designing and building its facilities in
Orlando and Delaware, according to Chief Information Officer Bernie Rice.
Nemours did not
simply focus on the cleanliness of patient rooms (although according the American Hospital Association,
cleanliness is important). Instead, the health system collected preferences
about what patient rooms should look like.
“The parents came in
and tested all of the furniture that they might be sleeping on in the rooms.
They provided input into what we actually purchased,” Rice recalled.
“The children came in
as well and helped pick colors and room layouts as far as if the counter was
too high. They were very valuable and heavily influenced our construction and
design to make sure it was a very family- and patient-friendly environment.”
By consulting with
the PAC and understanding the expectations of patients, Nemours ensured that
they not only delivered quality treatment, but also that they offered a
comfortable experience for both patients and caregivers.
Ultimately, working
toward a positive patient experience is a driver for understanding and
incorporating patient preferences into care. While doing so can yield better
patient retention or satisfaction ratings, providers should
also consider preferences as a part of delivering patient-centered care.
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