Background: Patient-centered care has recently attained the spotlight in the healthcare delivery model. An essential aspect of it depends on the patient’s perception of the care the healthcare team provides, and it’s a challenge for the healthcare community to provide a high-level patient care experience.
Methods: This is a prospective study conducted in a Medicine inpatient unit in a tertiary care center. The AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explain, Thank you) approach was devised and implemented to improve patient communication. Didactic sessions were held for the Physicians regarding the AIDET approach and sitting down at the patient’s bedside. Chairs were provided in every patient’s room for house staff to facilitate the process. We augmented this by having additional “Director’s Rounds,” where the Medical Director would round on randomly chosen patients’ to assess Physician compliance with execution of the protocol, in order to improve patient’s perception of care. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey tool was used to assess patient satisfaction. HCAHPS scores were compared with those of the preceding months and the remainder of the Medicine inpatient units in the hospital.
Results: Based on the preliminary data of the first two months of the study, we have seen significant results with our approach. The results are as follows in each domain of the HCAHPS survey (as shown in the image):1. “Communication with Doctors,” the HCAHPS score improved from a 14% percentile rank in May 2022 to 83% in June and 99% in July. 2. “Doctors treat with courtesy/respect,” the score improved from a 25% percentile to 61% in June and 99% in July. 3. “Doctors listen carefully to you,” the score improved significantly from the 3% percentile to 66% in June and 99% in July. 4. “Doctors explain in a way you understand,” the score increased from 35% percentile to 94% in June and 99% in July. Conversely, the remainder of Medicine inpatient units failed to show an increase in HCAHPS scores in the domains mentioned above.
Conclusions: While the initial results look promising, this project has now become the standard of care for the entire institution. This QI project has successfully encompassed multi-disciplinary effort in targeting the improvement of patient satisfaction scores. Bedside rounds with the physician seated at the level of the patient in conjunction with effective communication helps make a positive impact on patient satisfaction, ultimately enhancing the quality of care delivered.
