Katherine Kalthoff looks at the emotional and spiritual supports that patients need. They often bring the voice of the patient to the table as decisions are being made in an organization, whether it’s through their patient family advisory council or through comments they receive. The nurses at Ohio County Healthcare are improving the patient experience by teaching communication skills, such as emotional intelligence and impact of response. The marketing team at Unity Point Health is using personas to help understand how to get people to return to care. They used a non-traditional campaign with Kid President to reach out to people who were scared to come back.
Employee Engagement and Well-Being Impact Patient Experience
They discussed how patient experience is affected by employee engagement and well-being. Lara mentioned that they put scrubs on and walk beside their team to get a better understanding of their reality. Kate talked about her book which focuses on leaving things better than you found them. Athena believes that conversations with frontline staff and supervisors can help eliminate frustrations, creating a culture of support for coworkers is also important.
If we have a staff member that’s very frustrated, we have staff members who say, go take a break. This is our code blue time for you. You’ll go take a break. I’ll cover your patience and then you come back. In addition to this, we have a patient family advisory council, where we choose topics such as living with a physical disability and how you navigate the healthcare system with a physical disability. We also have a mobile unit that takes healthcare to people in rural communities and identifies social determinants of health. Sustaining this is done through community partnerships and developing frameworks so that it is not overtasking.
Creating a Patient-Centered Culture
Culture and patient experience are closely intertwined. To build a strong culture of patient-centered care, it is important to take a look at patient experience data, such as discharge instructions, complaints about pain management, etc., to uncover any unconscious bias in your organization. Acknowledge the importance of quality and safety when communicating with staff, and focus on providing genuine connections and appreciation for their work. Showing love and support to internal teams can go a long way in creating a positive patient experience. Finally, don’t underestimate the difficulty of creating a culture of patient-centered care and be willing to make tough decisions when necessary.
Having someone who is a champion of bringing the patient voice forward, and working to ensure that every patient and encounter receives the right care, is essential for organizations looking to provide the best patient experience.
Note: This is an AI generated transcript, not edited by a staff writer and is solely intended for educational purposes. If you have any questions/concerns, reach out to events@beckershealthcare.com
This panel was live on 04/04/2023 at the event listed here.
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