Increasing Patients’ Perception of Care: An Action Plan Guided by its mission, vision, and values, the strategic planning committee assesses, and develops the overall goals of the healthcare organization’s strategic plan. General information is disseminated to all stakeholders. These are important steps, but without a well-developed action plan, a strategic plan will not come to fruition. At its simplest form, the components to an action plan include: a clearly identified objective; actions needed to achieve the objective; assigning responsibility and time frame for each task; determining the resources that will be needed; and identifying a method for measuring the intended results (Ginter, Duncan, and Swayne, 2013, p. 389). A thorough understanding of inclusivity is needed when developing an action plan; it is an absolute necessity to gather all those involved, particularly the staff that will be asked to perform the actions. This essay discusses an action plan to increase patients’ perception of care for one inpatient unit, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program (ADATP), at McLean Hospital. McLean is a private, not for profit, psychiatric healthcare organization that is part of a larger health system, Partners HealthCare. It is also affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Today’s healthcare environment is a consumer-based business that must be concerned with patient satisfaction, which is similar but not quite the same as customer satisfaction. Patient satisfaction is based on a trusting relationship in which patients feel a personal connection to the provider while their medical and emotional needs are being met. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) recognize patients’ experience of care as a significant factor in the CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing initiative, which rewards hospitals with incentive payments for high-quality care and penalizes those with low scores (CMS, 2015). At McLean, just prior to discharge, patients are invited the to let their voices be heard through the completion of the Perceptions of Care (PoC) survey. The 24-item survey was developed by the hospital in 1984. It has been revised three times to reflect the dynamic nature of healthcare. The last two questions are open-ended. One, asks the patient to identify staff who deserve recognition; and the second asks is there anything you want to say about your care (McLean Hospital Mental Health Services Evaluation Department [MHSED], 2015). The Action Plan Objective Currently, the ADATP has been asked to improve the score for one question on the PoC, “Did the staff treat you with respect and dignity?” The organizational leadership at McLean believes the answer to this question determines whether or not the organization is living its values. ADATP’s score was 55%, the lowest in the hospital (L. Flaherty, personal communication, June 7, 2016). Actions to Achieve Objective ADATP Nurse Director and Medical Director scheduled an initial meeting of all inpatient staff to meet with the Vice President (VP) of Patient Care Services and the Chief Medical Officer to discuss the objective and its rationale, including senior leaders, elevates the importance of this initiative. A series of meetings
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Prior to each patient entering the room, the team will discuss and review electronic notes, allowing the provider to make eye contact with the patient and not be buried in the computer. Each discipline will have an opportunity to speak with the patient and answer questions. After the patient leaves the room, the team will take time to document prior to the next patient entering the room. This will be done for one month.
Resources Needed The biggest resource is time. Multitasking will need to be decreased. Time will be needed to discuss how the actions are going.
Measuring the Results The PoCs will be reviewed in one month to determine if the score increased on the question, “Did the staff treat you with respect and dignity?” Additionally, the open-ended questions will be reviewed for content specific to respect.
Conclusion
The PDCA cycle allows for the iterative process of: a plan being made, the task to be done, checking to be determine if the change was successful, and act by continuing the change if working. Psychiatrists, nurses, and clinical social workers will implement the next action of reflective listening for one month. The results will be analyzed and the third action will be
Prior to each patient entering the room, the team will discuss and review electronic notes, allowing the provider to make eye contact with the patient and not be buried in the computer. Each discipline will have an opportunity to speak with the patient and answer questions. After the patient leaves the room, the team will take time to document prior to the next patient entering the room. This will be done for one month.
Resources Needed The biggest resource is time. Multitasking will need to be decreased. Time will be needed to discuss how the actions are going.
Measuring the Results The PoCs will be reviewed in one month to determine if the score increased on the question, “Did the staff treat you with respect and dignity?” Additionally, the open-ended questions will be reviewed for content specific to respect.
Conclusion
The PDCA cycle allows for the iterative process of: a plan being made, the task to be done, checking to be determine if the change was successful, and act by continuing the change if working. Psychiatrists, nurses, and clinical social workers will implement the next action of reflective listening for one month. The results will be analyzed and the third action will be