Patient-centred quality improvement audit

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Experience Research
• Quality Improvement Auditing

Background:

• Community healthcare trusts require robust methods to assess service quality.
• Understanding patient perceptions is crucial for effective quality improvement initiatives.
• Existing audit tools may not fully capture the user's perspective on healthcare quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and implementation of an instrument for auditing patient perceptions of quality improvement.
• To evaluate the utility of this new instrument in a community health care trust setting.
• To highlight the role of healthcare professionals in driving quality improvements based on patient feedback.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel auditing instrument focused on patient-reported outcomes.
• Implementation of the instrument within a community health care trust.
• Analysis of initial findings from the instrument's application.

Main Results:

• The instrument successfully measured health outcomes from the patient's perspective.
• Identified discrepancies between offered services and patient perceptions of delivered quality.
• Demonstrated the significant impact of the professional role in quality improvement processes.

Conclusions:

• Patient-centred quality improvement audits should be conducted regularly.
• These audits enable healthcare professionals and managers to verify service patient-friendliness and effectiveness.
• Incorporating patient expectations and perceptions enhances professional advocacy and decision-making.