Patient-Centred Measurement in British Columbia: Statistics without the Tears Wiped Off

At the heart of every data point in healthcare is a person. British Columbia's (BC) province-wide, coordinated survey program, established in 2002, gives people who use BC's healthcare services a voice in improving the quality of the care and services they receive. Survey data or statistics are presented without the tears wiped off by integrating quantitative results along with a "human" voice or story annotated directly into reports to illustrate the numerical feedback. In this way the data represent the true lived experiences of people who use our healthcare services and allow us to evaluate our progress towards providing truly patient-centred care. After over a decade of measurement and reporting of patient experiences, BC will pioneer a new approach. People who receive healthcare services in BC will be asked to provide feedback across their entire episode of care. And, because routine measurement of patient experiences and patient outcomes in healthcare is a provincial strategic objective, patients will be asked to assess both their experiences of care (patient self-reported experiences) and their outcomes of care (patient self-reported outcomes). This change in measurement strategy builds on 13 years of continuous improvement in patient-centred data collection, reporting and action based on feedback from BC's patients and families.