Patient service activities
While most hospitals measure patient satisfaction annually, BWH is one of the few Massachusetts institutions that has committed to measuring patient satisfaction quarterly and reporting it to our staff. As a result of the first public release of patient satisfaction data, collected and analyzed by the Picker Institute, the hospital introduced new programs to address patient needs and continues to build on those programs and devise and implement new ones. The next round of data measurements from February and March 2000 will be the basis for the reports distributed publicly in October 2000 and will offer an opportunity to evaluate the success of patient service activities.
Impact of Picker Study to Date
To better address the needs of patients, the hospital introduced the Patient and Family Relations Department supervised by Tracy Johnston. This team responds to compliments and complaints, sees patients in the ED, and rounds on the floors. Now in existence for six months, the department is analyzing data on our performance to look for systems for improvements.
Patient education has been the thrust of programs in the Emergency Department, Medicine, Surgery, OB, and Orthopedics. The General Medicine Service distributes introductory letters to patients describing who is on a healthcare team, their roles, and a typical day as a patient. Information packets, many customized to the specific procedure the patient is undergoing, and videos are now the norms on services throughout the hospital, as are written instructions and advice when patients are discharged. Several departments make day-after-discharge phone calls to follow up with patients about their stay at the hospital and their recovery in general. Several departments have trained their staff in customer service techniques.
New programs are in the development stages and include a comprehensive approach to patient service training, day-after-discharge phone calls, ongoing education of all staff, and continued Picker surveying each quarter. A new OB TV channel, which is dedicated to information about baby care as well as parent issues, will be instituted in January and will run 24 hours a day for parents. Surgical Services has begun to work with Admitting to evaluate a program for designating a home pod for each surgical subspecialty service, and communication with referring physicians will be a major focus for improvement in the ED.
Look for these new initiatives and information. Please talk with your department leaders if you would like to participate, or call Paula Johnson, MD, Director of Quality Management Services.
Partners Update
Partners Physicians Day The first-ever Partners Physicians Day is scheduled for February 12, 2000, to offer physicians from across the Partners system an opportunity to become better educated in one another’s expertise and a chance to network with colleagues.
Partners President and CEO Samuel O. Thier, MD, will open the day-long conference with a presentation on the state of healthcare in the US. Three 90-minute breakout sessions, each featuring a “state-of-the-art” talk and a variety of interactive sessions led by more than 50 faculty participants, round out the day’s educational component. The conference will conclude with a reception.
CME credits are available, and there is no fee for the conference for Partners physicians. Look for registration materials in the mail, and be sure to register by January 21. For more information, contact Grace Bommarito at 278-1058 or gbommarito@partners.org.
Partners in Excellence
More than 600 professional staff and employees were recognized for their outstanding contributions to BWH at the fourth annual Partners in Excellence award ceremony on December 15. Partners in Excellence Individual Awards went to David Acker, Mitchell Albert, Edwin Alyea, Tucker Collins, Howard Hartley, Charles Mesquita, and Richard Zane. Team awards were presented to individual members of 55 teams.
Comfort Care/DNR bracelets
Please be advised that we may begin to see more patients wearing Comfort Care/ DNR bracelets. The white plastic bracelet identifies that the wearer is enrolled in The Comfort Care Program and advises EMS and First Responders to follow pathways defined by the Comfort Care Protocol. Beginning January 1, 2000, this will be the sole mechanism by which EMTs and First Responders may verify a DNR order.
The bracelet should NOT be removed from the patient under any circumstances unless the patient or legal guardian chooses to do so during the patient’s stay. The removal of the bracelet will require that a new Comfort Care/DNR Verification Form be signed and a new bracelet with a corresponding number be issued.
Patient Access Services is Top in Nation
Patient Access Services participated in a UHC Inpatient Admitting Process Benchmarking Study with more than 80 other admitting departments across the country in late 1998. In the report issued this fall, BWH’s admitting department was at the top of every category measured—from staff productivity to physician satisfaction. In addition, BWH was chosen the best admitting department overall.
BWH is Top 100 hospital
For the seventh year in a row, BWH has been named one of the nation’s top performing hospitals in the 1999 100 Top Hospitals - Benchmarks for Success. BWH remains the only hospital in the country to be included every year of the prestigious award’s existence, and it is the only hospital to make both this list and US News and World Report’s list of top ten hospitals in 1999.
The Top 100 evaluates hospitals on the basis of risk-adjusted mortality index; risk-adjusted complications index; severity-adjusted average length of stay; expense per adjusted discharge, case mix- and wage-adjusted; profitability; proportion of outpatient revenue; index of total facility occupancy; and productivity.
According to HCIA, compared with their peers, 100 Top Hospitals “have better outcomes, although faced with sicker patients; offer better salary and benefits packages to attract quality staff, but maintain lower expenses and substantially higher profits; maintain leaner staffing ratios without affecting patient outcomes; may invest more in plant modernization and patient services without increasing their overall operating expenses per discharge; are managing their debt better; and make the most of their resources by keeping occupancy rates high.”
Does efficiency threaten quality of care?
In its report on the Top 100 ranking, USA Today asked if cost control is leading to better patient outcomes. According to the recent Institute of Medicine report on medical errors, approximately one-third of the errors seen nation-wide were due to adverse drug events. BWH’s Order Entry System introduced six years ago has reduced medication-related errors by more than 80 percent. Creating a system that catches the inevitable errors humans make before they affect the patient is the key to reducing all medical errors as new safety nets are designed and the federal government establishes an agency to tackle medical errors.
Faulkner Update
January will see a further strengthening of the relationship between BWH and Faulkner Hospital when a new center will open its doors—the Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals Vein Care Center. Under the direction of Medical Director Patricia Furey, MD, the center will offer sclerotherapy, laser therapy, and surgery to treat vein conditions. The center is located at Faulkner Hospital.