Improving Quality and Safety In Your Endoscopy Unit: On-Demand | October 2022 OLQUALOCT22-05_Srivastava

05_Srivastava_Pt Satisfaction

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This document discusses the measurement and maximization of patient satisfaction, with a focus on telemedicine. The author defines patient experience as encompassing all interactions patients have with the healthcare system, including interactions with nurses, staff, and physicians as well as health plans. Improving patient experience allows for the assessment of whether patients are receiving care that is respectful and responsive to their preferences, needs, and values. It is important to note that patient experience is different from patient satisfaction, which is determined by whether a patient's expectations about a healthcare encounter were met.<br /><br />The benefits of improved patient experience include efficiency, safety, improved patient behavior, clinical process improvements, better clinical outcomes, and financial benefits such as increased patient retention and employee retention. Tools to measure patient experience include the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey and endoscopy-specific surveys. Patient experience measures for endoscopy include the technical quality of care, comfort, personal manner of endoscopists and nurses, endoscopy unit environment, and wait times.<br /><br />To improve the patient experience, strategies such as survey tools, patient rounding, staff coaching in communication, team huddles, rewards and recognition programs, procedures for informing patients of waits, narrating care, and service recovery programs can be implemented. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) considerations are crucial in optimizing the patient experience, with factors such as language barriers, gender preferences, and cultural competence training needing to be addressed.<br /><br />In the context of telemedicine, the document highlights how telehealth can enhance the patient experience in endoscopy by providing telephone-based re-education on bowel preparation, virtual pre-procedure visits, and post-procedure consultations. Studies have shown that telehealth consultations during the COVID-19 outbreak have improved procedure no-show rates while maintaining high patient and provider satisfaction.<br /><br />In conclusion, multiple factors influence the patient experience within an endoscopy unit, and it is important to prioritize patient experience, utilize available tools for measurement, incorporate DEI considerations, and explore opportunities to implement telemedicine to enhance the patient experience.

Keywords

patient satisfaction

telemedicine

patient experience

healthcare system

clinical outcomes

patient retention

DEI considerations

telehealth

procedure no-show rates

endoscopy unit