{"id":"bb10b4d2-d14d-4def-98ab-7183c8becac9","slug":"the-impact-of-a-patient-education-bundle-on-neurosurgery-patient-satisfaction","title":"The impact of a patient education bundle on neurosurgery patient satisfaction","authors":["Tamara Kliot","Corinna C. Zygourakis","Sarah Imershein","Catherine Lau","Michel Kliot"],"abstract":"Background: As reimbursements and hospital/physician performance become ever more reliant on Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) and other quality metrics, physicians are increasingly incentivized to improve patient satisfaction. Methods: A faculty and resident team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Department of Neurological Surgery developed and implemented a Patient Education Bundle. This consisted of two parts: The first was preoperative expectation letters (designed to inform patients of what to expect before, during, and after their hospitalization for a neurosurgical procedure); the second was a trifold brochure with names, photographs, and specialty/training information about the attending surgeons, resident physicians, and nurse practitioners on the neurosurgical service. We assessed patient satisfaction, as measured by HCAHPS scores and a brief survey tailored to our specific intervention, both before and after our Patient Education Bundle intervention. Results: Prior to our intervention, 74.6% of patients responded that the MD always explained information in a way that was easy to understand. After our intervention, 78.7% of patients responded that the MD always explained information in a way that was easy to understand. \"Neurosurgery Patient Satisfaction survey\" results showed that 83% remembered receiving the preoperative letter; of those received the letter, 93% found the letter helpful; and 100% thought that the letter should be continued. Conclusion: Although effects were modest, we believe that patient education strategies, as modeled in our bundle, can improve patients' hospital experiences and have a positive impact on physician performance scores and hospital ratings. It is no longer enough to be a clinically competent doctor. Physicians are expected to be clinically profiicent as well as are being graded and even rewarded for also being kind, considerate, compassionate, timely, responsive, and apologetic when appropriate. The following article provides a template for a letter that physicians at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) send to their clinic patients prior to a hospital admission for surgery. The letter's goal is to inform patients as to what to expect in terms of who, how, and when they will be treated. In addition to being informative, it is also meant to set realistic expectations that hopefully can be met. This article also shows the utility of providing patients with a photo brochure of their medical team so that they can know and track who is actually taking care of them. Not only do these interventions make sense, but data on patient satisfaction before and after implementation is presented that suggests that patients actually appreciate and benefit from these efforts. This article showcases how physicians can humanize interactions with their patients with simple, considerate actions that can serve as an antidote to the depersonalization of medicine engendered by financial imperatives pressuring physicians to see more patients in a more timely and efficient manner while paying homage to the electronic medical record.","thumbnailUrl":"https://sni-digital-videos.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/bb10b4d2-d14d-4def-98ab-7183c8becac9/featured/hero-1782420953584.png","publishDate":"2015-11-16T00:00:00.000Z","doi":"10.4103/2152-7806.169538","categories":["General Neurosurgery","Original Article"],"fullTextUrl":"http://surgicalneurologyint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/6343/SNI-6-567.pdf"}