Since the HITECH Act of 2006, healthcare has seen an exponential growth in quantitative and qualitative data. The plethora of data creates fact-based solutions and improves the quality of healthcare through comparative analysis. One of the most important areas of healthcare data includes patient feedback. Feedback can consist of patient experience, satisfaction, and outcomes. Social media, written complaints and compliments, and surveying are a few examples of how organizations can collect patient feedback.  No matter the feedback process chosen, responses improve care outcomes, financial performance, and overall satisfaction.  

UPMC and goShadow partnered to apply the “What Matters To You” survey tool to optimize patient feedback across oncology, neonatal ICU and orthopaedic service lines. Unlike standardized surveys, open response questions allow respondents to share their opinions in their own words on any topic that is of concern to them. The descriptive responses open communication lines about the pebbles in patients’ and providers’ shoes. Dissecting similar responses into predetermined themes enables upper management to understand the responses more easily. 

Focus in and give leadership an easy win: distill patient feedback into top recommendations in the form of an executive summary . Think of low hanging fruit identified that will improve experiences for patients and employees. . Using a stoplight approach illustrates the easily obtainable short-term themes and goals that are easy wins and serve to transform patient and employee culture. Prioritizing next steps increases efficiency by allocating resources and time to the short-term goals. Steps to achieve long-term goals can be developed in a timely manner so that teams, patients, and families can be engaged to maximize value-driven results. 

‍

goShadow’s reports are delivered on a monthly basis, providing timely results. A quick turn around delivers actionable results to improve the pain points before the problems progress. Stakeholders feel heard when changes are implemented based on their recommendations. Ensuring that improvements will be made instills trust in the organization and maintains loyalty.

Application of the “What Matters” framework and surveys across UPMC facilities and service lines enables comparison across departments and scaled learning. Departments can utilize one another to discuss tactics that work and do not work for their organization. Cross-departmental communication promotes holistic care for patients and standardizes processes for optimal outcomes.
‍

‍
Sources:

https://pxjournal.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1370&context=journal