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Patient and Carer Experience
Solutions: Improving Patient and Carer Experience
Information and Education
Enough Information Regarding Condition / Treatment
Providing Patients with Enough Information
Providing Patients with Enough Information
Many healthcare professionals would acknowledge that care in many hospital units is not as customer-friendly as it could or should be. Systems and processes are often designed to meet the needs of providers more than patients. Making care more patient-centred can be as simple as providing patients with complete, customised information about their care team and their hospital experience. (IHI Whitepaper: Transforming Care at the Bedside 2004).
For example, a whiteboard could be used at the bedside to document the patient’s Estimated Date of Discharge. Additional information could also be posted on the whiteboard to provide information, support patient involvement, and enhance communication within the care team and between the care team and patients and families. For example: dates and times of planned tests/consultations, patient preferences, or daily goals.
Evidence of Success
Case Study - IHI Innovation Series 2004: Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB)
Some TCAB sites placed whiteboards in each patient’s room on which they posted names and sometimes photographs of the patient’s care team. Care teams worked with patients and families to establish daily goals and patient preferences about their care decisions and wrote them on the board.
The TCAB sites found that posting targets on the patient’s whiteboard in the room provided an expectation and focus for the patient, family members and the healthcare team in reaching that target. It also helped everyone feel more involved and engaged in the recovery process.
Resources
Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Transforming Care at the Bedside
Opportunities for Improvement
Dimension of Care
Measure
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