Quality Improvement Project to Improve Patient Satisfaction With Pain Management: Using Human-Centered Design.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient-Centered Care
• Nursing Practices

Background:

• Inadequate inpatient pain management remains a significant challenge in healthcare.
• Patient satisfaction with pain management is a key indicator of care quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a comprehensive, patient-centered strategy for improving inpatient pain management.
• To assess the impact of this new approach on patient satisfaction across multiple medical centers.

Main Methods:

• Utilized human-centered design principles to create a bundle of nursing practices.
• Implemented the 6-practice bundle across 21 medical centers within the health system.
• Measured patient satisfaction using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) pain composite score.

Main Results:

• The implemented patient-centered approach led to a substantial increase in patient satisfaction with pain management.
• Patient satisfaction scores improved from the 25th to just under the 75th national percentile.
• The quality improvement project demonstrated a positive impact on patient experience.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive, patient-centered approach incorporating specific nursing practices can effectively enhance inpatient pain management.
• The project successfully improved patient satisfaction, highlighting the value of human-centered design in healthcare quality initiatives.
• Findings support the scalability and effectiveness of this model for improving pain management in diverse healthcare settings.