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."
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" at www.studergroup.com.
► 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."
How to Implement Individualized Patient Care
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Action |
How it works |
1. Use key words. |
Upon admission, the nurse says to the patient: "Our goal is to provide very good care. (Use appropriate language from your patient satisfaction survey.) What three things can we do to make sure your care is very good?" If the patient doesn't know, dig deeper using items from the survey. Say: "How important is your pain management?" "Keeping you informed?" "Ensuring your call lights are answered?"
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2. Note items on the white board. |
There should be a white board in every patient's room. Also write the patient's pain goal and the next time medication is due. |
3. Ask during daily rounds. |
The nurse manager should ask "How well are we doing (with each of identified needs)?" and connect these to survey questions.
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4. Ask at shift change. |
Nursing staff should repeat as above. |
5. Ask at discharge. |
Both nursing staff and case managers should ask, "How well have we done at (identified needs)?
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6. Review the survey tool. |
At discharge, the case manager should review the survey tool. Say, "We survey our patients. It is one way we learn how we are doing and is a way to recognize staff. Will you please do me a favor and complete and return this when it arrives in the mail? Thank you. This is so important to us." (Note: If the patient is not happy, use service recovery!)
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7. Make discharge phone calls. |
During the call, ask how well the hospital did at meeting the needs identified by the patient.
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