Patients as Partners: Integrating Patient Feedback in Improvement Initiatives

Paula Calestagne, Patient Satisfaction Program Coordinator, Jewish General Hospital

The presentation will focus on a hospital’s journey to fully integrate feedback from patients and their families within the hospital’s quality initiatives. Recognizing patients as partners was a founding principle of the Jewish General Hospital’s Quality Program. By seeking patients’ feedback routinely during quality projects and improvement planning the hospital enables patients to play a meaningful role in influencing the quality of their care. As a result of having their concerns recognized, and addressed, by the hospital, patients become true partners with their healthcare teams. This session will use real life examples from 15 years of history of gathering and acting upon feedback from patients and their families. From the simplest change to the most complex, patient’s opinions have been at the center of decision making. Participants will hear about some of the more successful initiatives, as well as some of the lessons learned and hurdles overcome.