patient’s experience begins the moment they choose or are referred to our system. Their experience describes their care journey—from scheduling an appointment, seeing a specialist, an inpatient stay, filling their prescriptions, follow-up appointments—to whatever the outcome may be. Today, as patient concerns are focused on the coronavirus pandemic, each step in the patients’ care experience matters even more.
More Resources
Check out the resources below for help in staying patient-centered during the pandemic:
How to Rapidly Become a Virtual Clinician
Designing a Virtual Clinic Workflow that Actually Works for Your Team
Breaking Down the Compassion Wall
COVID-ready communication skills: A playbook of VitalTalk Tips
Feedback during a pandemic
Beginning in February 2020, patients started telling us about their concerns around COVID-19. By mid-April, it was all patients could talk about. We’ve received thousands of patient comments that relay a diversity of emotions: appreciation, confusion, stress, frustration, anxiety, and fear. We’ve also hosted two patient design studios in the last eight weeks to hear how patients feel about getting tested, communication from their provider, caring for their loved ones, and what it will take to feel comfortable coming to an upcoming appointment.
Voice of the pandemic patient
I went to the Sugar House COVID testing center. I got there about 20 minutes before they stopped testing. I can't imagine how many people they had seen before me and yet, everyone was kind, they took the time to sanitize everything, it was cold and blustering wind and STILL everyone was working hard and working as a team. Very impressive. I spoke to my provider before coming in and she put in a referral. I didn't expect to have physician see me at the test site. He was very kind and wanted to answer any questions I had (luckily my provider had already walked me through what to expect.) but I really felt at ease with a situation that could have been a lot more scary had it not been for such a great team." —Sugar House Health Center, visit April 2020
Dr. Vanhorn was very patient with all of my questions about coronavirus. she was reassuring and validated my feelings and concerns. I love the staff in this office and Dr. Vanhorn. There was hand sanitizer everywhere and everyone took hand washing seriously. There was a serious concern about Coronavirus at the hospital, and I appreciated being screened about symptoms multiple times as I moved through the hospital. —University Hospital Women's Health Clinic, Jennifer Van Horn, MD, visit March 2020
What do our patients tell us?
To help identify themes, we applied U of U Health’s 5 Elements qualitative model to help digest coronavirus comments. As a refresher, an exceptional patient experience reflects 5 Elements—caring, listening, explaining, teamwork, and efficiency. Patients want to be known, heard, and provided a plan that reflects and includes their values. Patients want the team to coordinate for them and be on the same page with each other. Patients want the team to be organized to meet their needs. When all 5 elements are present, patients describe their confidence, trust, and loyalty to the care team.
The following is a breakdown of coronavirus themes using the 5 elements model:
| Theme | Covid-19 Patient Concerns |
|---|---|
| CARING (KNOW me) |
|
| LISTENING (HEAR me) |
|
| EXPLAINING (TEACH me) |
|
| TEAMWORK (COORDINATE for me) |
|
| EFFICIENCY (MAKE IT EASY for me) |
|
The U of U Health 5 Elements of Patient Experience is based on qualitative analysis of more than 10,000 comments and over 10 years of organizational improvement efforts. Learn more about our methodology here.
What do we do with this feedback?
You may feel too busy right now to read your patient comments. That's ok! Try using the 5 Elements to think about how you're demonstrating safe practices, explaining what will happen next, and how to include the patient's loved one during the visits or rounds.
For over ten years, University of Utah Health has been a national leader in delivering compassionate, coordinated, and expert care. As we navigate patient care during this pandemic, we can turn to what has always worked for our organization: continue to strive for the exceptional patient experience.
Mari Ransco
Patient Experience Program Coordinator Corrie Harris and Project Administrator Emily Izzo explain how to get valuable patient feedback early in your improvement efforts by meeting with the U of U Health Patient Design Studio and Advise Utah.
What do patients want? University of Utah Health’s patient experience team reveals what fifteen years of evolving qualitative analysis of hundreds of thousands of patient voices have taught us.
Waiting is such a firmly entrenched feature of healthcare that it is often taken as a given and not recognized for the disrespect it conveys.
