Patient and employee experience scores have become increasingly significant in the modern healthcare system. With hospitals competing to provide the best experience, it can often be difficult to identify opportunities for improvement within a siloed system; it is difficult to engage patients in a meaningful way to improve their complete experience.

“Co-design” has been the healthcare buzzword of the past decade, but implementing this concept into everyday practice is a daunting task. Major pain points for patients remain consistent across experiences; wait times, ease of scheduling appointments, and parking are common themes that most leaders are aware of. What is worse is that standardized surveys take months to report this feedback without insights into how to actually fix the root cause of the problem. Experience-based patient feedback reveals inadequacies that health care teams wouldn't otherwise know. Think about small details that get lost in the hustle - translation needs, assistance with a wheelchair, wider doors, directional signs, or waiting rooms with chairs appropriate for all bodies.

The best time to ask patients to be a part of improving their care experience is real-time, when they are living the experience and it is top of mind. Using a tool like “What Matters?” allows for real-time collection and aggregation of patient feedback. Patients are asked customizable  questions related to their experience,allowing for data activated and change to commence immediately. This tool can be easily incorporated into experiences as simple as the check-in process or as sophisticated as a day or surgery experience.

Below are sample “What Matters?” questions that help to engage patients and get to the heart of what patients need:

• What’s most important to you as a patient in this office?
• Tell us what went well today and/or something that could have gone better. Include any ideas for ways to improve.
• What information do you wish you had known prior to your experience?

References:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1476750317723965