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In one of the few surveys that focus on families of patients, results have revealed high levels of satisfaction with the delivery of intensive care at BWH. Using a tool that was developed internally, BWH obtains the feedback of the family members of ICU patients through a mailed survey.
“The ICU experience is often a hectic and stressful time for family members, who are so intimately involved in the patient care delivery process of their loved ones,” said Michael Gustafson, MD, MBA, executive director, Center for Clinical Excellence, who explains that patients often don’t recall their ICU experience, so monitoring satisfaction of family members is essential to benchmark care delivery and support in these units.
The ICU Family Satisfaction Survey tool was developed in 1999 and then piloted in the surgical ICU on 7CD. In the spring of 2000, six ICUs (7CD, 8CD, 9D and 12D) began administering the survey and the Medical ICU on 9C adopted the survey later in 2000. Recently, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has modified the survey tool to obtain feedback from parents of newborns who are cared for in the NICU.
Since the survey first began, response rates have been impressive. Currently, 30 to 40 percent of those family members solicited complete and return the survey.
Survey questions are categorized into five specific areas of focus—communication with ICU staff, nursing care in the ICU, physician care in the ICU, family support services and overall satisfaction. The scores have been positive and the most improvement lies in the consistency of information from different caregivers. BWH Care Improvement Teams have been diligently working to reinforce consistent communication to the family members from all members of the patient’s care team. According to Gustafson, over the last three years, dedicated intensivists—physicians who specialize in critical care medicine—have been present on the units to provide expert ICU care and help coordinate communication with family members.
The results of the surveys are reported back to the clinical managers and directors on the respective ICU floors.
According to Gustafson, areas of opportunity are continually identified and addressed to enhance patient care and family member support in BWH’s various ICUs.