I was recently doing a full-day patient experience workshop with staff nurses from several organizations and was stunned to learn that very few had ever seen the HCAHPS survey questions. Once exposed to the eight dimensions of the survey, they unanimously agreed that nurses could impact scores in all eight dimensions and were eager to explore solutions in greater depth.
What surprises me most is that when reimbursement is on the line, I would expect healthcare leaders to do more to engage nurses in making improvements. Improving patient satisfaction takes more than just telling staff to be nice. They have to first understand the patient perspective and then become involved in finding what works. Read more...
Essential Qualities for Improving Patient ExperienceThis past week, I had the pleasure of being the keynote speaker at a nursing conference. It is always so energizing to be among nurses who take pride in their profession. Surrounded by hundreds of nurses, I was struck by the sheer magnitude of their influence on human life. It’s the nurses’ hands that are often the first to hold and soothe a newborn, and it is also their hands that comfort the ill, injured, and dying. When nurses are inspired and engaged, wonderful things happen that shape not only clinical outcomes but the reputation of the organization. Their influence is felt far beyond the individual encounters extending to patient families and the community. Read more...
None of us wants to believe that we are the roadblocks to innovation and change, yet there are so many times when I hear leaders shoot down opportunities for growth and innovation with one simple sentence. Take your pick of these most common squelchers, including: Read more...
- It won’t work!
- We tried that once back in…
- They won’t approve. (The we/they thing is always a clue to filter.)
- That will never fly here!
- You don’t understand. We’re different. (Healthcare suffers from terminal uniqueness, including one doctor’s patients being sicker than all others, one hospital having unique issues with running 24/7, and—my personal favorite—only angry patients fill out satisfaction surveys.)
So much of the patient experience rests in the hands of nurses. But so does quality, safety, and a myriad of other metrics. Nurses have a lot on their plates, so it’s no wonder many of them want to run screaming when leaders start “preaching” about the patient experience and improving HCAHPS scores. Although there are countless moments of truth during any healthcare encounter, many of the most important ones happen at the hands of the nursing staff. Read more...
I think most of us would agree that it’s a good idea to do discharge follow-up calls to patients, and yet it’s the rare healthcare organization that does it consistently (and well). I’ll admit that I am a bit of an idealist when it comes to discharge follow up, but if we are really going to deliver truly patient-centered care, we need to have some ideals. Read more...
