Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Patient experience and why it matters?


Patient Partnership Council                                                                                 April 15, 2015

Tri-City Healthcare District

Oceanside, California

Council members,

 Today, 4/15/15, I found the conversation concerning patient satisfaction surveys at Tri-City Healthcare District’s(TCHD) Patient Partnership Council  meeting  most interesting. Perhaps the most profound input was presented by Dr.  Stuiver “over the past few weeks there have been very few complaints concerning patient satisfaction”, a statement of the quality of the professionals and volunteers working hard on a very critical issue in my humble opinion.

 The reported fact that the response rate is around six(6) percent at TCHD and can influence the fiscal situation by up to thirty percent in the days of the Affordable Care Act perhaps is why it will be on the agenda for our next meeting.

 Many times at the Board Meetings at TCHD there is almost a side note interest in improving the patient experience and most weeks I badger the California Nurses Association about  the leadership role they should assume on the issue, perhaps they had something to do with the improvements Dr. Stuiver described so I included them on the cc, thank you CNA.

 The disturbing part of the conversation is that the agencies(US) collecting and analyzing the survey are offering no feedback as to how to increase response rates so I cc to them as well, the California Department of Public Health is not the U.S.D.H.H.S. but do have a stake in an obviously failing system.

 Just to start the argument, no matter where the delivery(new Guide book is an option), be honest and ask for help:

“Your input will influence our community hospital and the quality of care we provide 

“How can you help”

“Why should you help”

“Your experience will directly influence”

“Patient satisfaction is a critical part of our funding cycle”

 

Psychological Approach

The psychological approach relies on heuristic factors such as reciprocity, helping, compliance, and selectivity as a way to increase response. Reciprocity is the behavioral norm that says people should treat others as they have been treated

 


 

Best regards,

Michael Slavinski

 

Ps Please feel free to challenge my opinion, that is the point, the reason why patient satisfaction is a “side note” at the honorable TCHD Board meetings is the multi-million dollar investments in capital equipment and technology to  improve “quality”  is the current trend, healthcare has finally made it to the 1980’s.

 Six percent, that is disturbing,  is the ACA really failing that badly, what could you possibly learn from 6% responding patients?

 

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