Drive Results with Individualized
Patient Care
“What does excellent care mean to you?”

That's the most important question hospitals can ask when they are using individualized patient care (IPC). By tracking performance on what’s most important to a patient throughout the patient’s hospital stay, hospitals ensure better clinical outcomes and exceed patient expectations. In fact, one hospital saw a 70% jump in patients’ rating of "effectiveness of pain management" on its patient satisfaction survey after implementing IPC. Another experienced a 40% jump in patients’ overall rating of care and a 26% increase in likeliness to recommend."

That’s because IPC reduces patient anxiety; improves communication between the patient and hospital employees; encourages teamwork and efficiency; and signals to the patient that everyone is working together closely to take care of him.

In a study of the effectiveness of IPC by the Studer Group's Alliance for Healthcare Research (March 2006), 33 units at 14 hospitals that implemented IPC all experienced an increase in their patient satisfaction percentile rankings. The results ranged from 9% on medical/ surgical inpatient units to 68% on ICU and step down units.

"Managers are excited when they have a recipe for success," says Jeannie Baker, CEO of Shands Starke, a Florida-based critical access hospital in the 99th percentile for patient satisfaction (PRC) that uses IPC. "It renews our passion for what we do every time we have a grateful patient or success story."

Register Now

Quality, Service, People and Process: How to Make Your Emergency Department Excellent
with Jay Kaplan, MD, FACEP
and July Kennedy, RN
> Oct. 12 to Jan. 12

Driving Results with Individualized Patient Care
with Lauren Charles, RN
> Nov. 9 to Feb. 9

Tips for Success:
> Hardwire rounding on staff first. If you want to get buy-in from staff, you first need to build your emotional bank account with them. Then begin rounding on patients. To learn more, read "Rounding for Outcomes."

> Hold staff accountable. Use a rounding log to document that rounds are consistently taking place. Check to ensure that white boards are consistently updated. Create a "no excuses" culture.

> Harvest compliments to reward and recognize staff. Shands Starke leaves cards all over the hospital so patients and families can easily share what’s working well. One hospice patient wrote: "Michelle washed my hair and bathed my aching body. She joked with me when I needed it. She made me feel like a million dollar queen."