A new research project uses video interviews of patients talking about their healthcare experience to trigger discussion among doctors, nurses, patients and their families, in a new effort in the U.K. to collaborate and come up with ways to improve care, according to an announcement from the University of Oxford.
The Health Experience Research Group at the University of Oxford, funded by the National Institute of Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research (NIHR HS&DR) Programme, collected about 3,000 interviews on more than 80 different conditions or health topics.
Pilot programs at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in London and the Royal Berkshire in Reading use the feedback to come up with solutions to simple, everyday problems that may seem small but make for a better patient experience. Most are easy fixes like putting clocks in the intensive care wing where patients can see them and giving post-operative patients more comfortable pillows.
"The challenge is to find ways of enabling organizations to learn from this evidence, to move beyond gathering data and really use patient experiences to improve care," said Louise Locock, M.D., of the Health Experiences Research Group.
At Royal Brompton & Harefield, the pilot focused on the intensive care unit and services for lung cancer patients, said Caroline Shuldham, director of nursing and clinical governance.
As a result, her ward now provides patients with a care plan for the day and greater explanations regarding treatment to ensure they fully understand the process. Staff now explain what different alarms and equipment do and what it means when they go off. The unit also created new privacy guidelines based on feedback from the recorded interviews.
"These were wards that were already providing excellent care. But what the process does is allow people--staff and patients--to see through each others' eyes a bit. The big thing for me was that patients felt they were being listened to. They were impressed that when they raised things they were taken seriously," Shuldham said.
To learn more:
- here's the announcement