Original Article
Improving Communication with Family Members during a Global Pandemic: Effect on Patient Experience
Abstract
Objectives: Communication with patients and their families/caregivers to facilitate informed decision making is an integral part of patient/family-centered care. Due to the high coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection rates and limited personal protective equipment, healthcare systems were forced to restrict patient visitors, limit patient–provider interactions, and implement other changes in treatment protocols that disturbed traditional communications and risked eroding patient/family-centered care and adversely affected patient satisfaction. This article focuses on changes in patient experience in two dedicated COVID-19 units of an academic medical center located in the US South as a result of the enhanced communication process implemented specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: This retrospective quality improvement project used data from Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys, fielded between January 1, 2021 and August 31, 2021, to understand the role of a proactive communication initiative in patient satisfaction.
Results: Our results show that HCAHPS scores for hospital unit hospital unit 4 (HSP4) in all categories increased over time, with the greatest improvements seen in the responsiveness of staff and care transition; however, HCAHPS scores for hospital unit HSP3 remained stable, with a small increase in responsiveness of staff.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that communication is a critical factor in patient satisfaction, demonstrating the efficacy of a swift and innovative initiative to improve communication with family/caregivers, which may have been linked to better patient experiences. Developing communication strategies is crucial for enhancing patient satisfaction.
Posted in: Infectious Disease143
This content is limited to qualifying members.
Existing members, please login first
If you have an existing account please login now to access this article or view purchase options.
Purchase only this article ($25)
Create a free account, then purchase this article to download or access it online for 24 hours.
Purchase an SMJ online subscription ($75)
Create a free account, then purchase a subscription to get complete access to all articles for a full year.
Purchase a membership plan (fees vary)
Premium members can access all articles plus recieve many more benefits. View all membership plans and benefit packages.
References
1. NEJM Catalyst. What is patient-centered care? https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/CAT.17.0559. Published 2017. Accessed November 12, 2022.
2. Hart JL, Turnbull AE, Oppenheim IM, et al. Family-centered care during the COVID-19 era. J Pain Symptom Manage 2020;60:e93–e97.
3. Humphreys J, Schoenherr L, Elia G, et al. Rapid implementation of inpatient telepalliative medicine consultations during COVID-19 pandemic. J Pain Symptom Manage 2020;60:e54–e59.
4. Rismiller K, Cartron AM, Trinidad JC. Inpatient teledermatology during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Dermatol Treat 2020;31:441–443.
5. Vinski J, Bertin M, Sun Z, et al. Impact of isolation on hospital consumer assessment of healthcare providers and systems scores: is isolation isolating? Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012;33:513–516.
6. Gasink LB, Singer K, Fishman NO, et al. Contact isolation for infection control in hospitalized patients: is patient satisfaction affected? Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2008;29:275–278.
7. Kuehnel NA, Morrison AK, Ferguson CC. Rapid cycle testing drives improved communication and satisfaction using in-person survey. BMJ Open Qual 2019;8:e000504.
8. Arnold RM, Back AL, Barnato AE, et al. The Critical Care Communication project: improving fellows’ communication skills. J Crit Care 2015;30:250–254.
9. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The CAHPS Program. https://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/about-cahps/cahps-program/index.html. Published January 2012. Accessed August 1, 2021.
10. Costigan J, Feldman SS, Lemak M. Assessment of patient satisfaction with dermatology clinics according to clinic type: mixed methods study. JMIR Dermatol 2020;3:e17171.
11. Modi SS, Costigan JB, Lemak M, et al. Patient experience in outpatient clinics: does appointment time impact satisfaction? Patient Exp J 2020;7: 166–173.
12. Boulding W, Glickman SW, Manary MP, et al. Relationship between patient satisfaction with inpatient care and hospital readmission within 30 days. Am J Manag Care 2011;17:41–48.
13. Klinkenberg WD, Boslaugh S, Waterman BM, et al. Inpatients’ willingness to recommend: a multilevel analysis. Health Care Manag Rev 2011;36: 349–358.
14. Kleinpell RM. Improving communication in the ICU. Heart Lung 2014;43:87.
15. Davidson JE, Powers K, Hedayat KM, et al. Clinical practice guidelines for support of the family in the patient-centered intensive care unit: American College of Critical Care Medicine Task Force 2004–2005. Crit Care Med 2007;35:605–622.
16. Pollack AH, Backonja U, Miller AD, et al. Closing the gap: supporting patients’ transition to self-management after hospitalization. Proc SIGCHI Conf Hum Factor Comput Syst 2016;2016:5324–5336.
17. Gallahue FE, Betz AE, Druck J, et al. Ready for discharge? A survey of discharge transition-of-care education and evaluation in emergency medicine residency programs. West J Emerg Med 2015;16:879–884.
18. Zurlo A, Zuliani G. Management of care transition and hospital discharge. Aging Clin Exp Res 2018;30:263–270.
19. Backman C, Cho-Young D. Engaging patients and informal caregivers to improve safety and facilitate person- and family-centered care during transitions from hospital to home—a qualitative descriptive study. Patient Prefer Adherence 2019;13:617–626.
20. Feldman SS, Kennedy KC, Nafziger SM, et al. Critical success factors for addressing discharge inefficiency at a large academic medical center: a lean Six Sigma approach. J Nurs Care Qual 2022;37:135–141.
21. Orewa GN, Feldman SS, Hearld KR, et al. Using accountable care teams to improve timely discharge: a pilot study. Qual Manag Health Care 2022;31: 22–27.
22. Beck MJ, Okerblom D, Kumar A, et al. Lean intervention improves patient discharge times, improves emergency department throughput and reduces congestion. Hosp Pract (1995) 2016;44:252–259.
23. Beck MJ, Gosik K. Redesigning an inpatient pediatric service using Lean to improve throughput efficiency. J Hosp Med 2015;10:220–227.
24. Horwitz LI, Moriarty JP, Chen C, et al. Quality of discharge practices and patient understanding at an academic medical center. JAMA Intern Med 2013;173:1715–1722.
