Related Experiment Videos
Business Cards as a Mechanism to Encourage Patient Feedback About Trainees
Marc Atzenhoefer1, Jodie Ruffin2, David Parewski3
1Aurora Cardiovascular and Thoracic Services, Aurora Sinai/Aurora St. Luke's Medical Centers, Milwaukee, WI.
Insights
Distributing business cards to trainees increased patient survey returns but did not improve feedback for medical trainees. Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys are not an effective feedback tool for fellows.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Health Services Research
- Patient Experience
Background:
- Trainee feedback is crucial for medical education.
- Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys are a potential, yet underutilized, source of patient feedback.
- The utility of HCAHPS surveys as a direct feedback mechanism for trainees requires evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess if distributing business cards to trainees enhances the utility of HCAHPS surveys for trainee feedback.
- To determine if business cards improve HCAHPS survey return rates and the quality of qualitative feedback.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of HCAHPS surveys in providing actionable feedback to cardiovascular disease fellows.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study design tracked patient encounters for 6 cardiovascular disease fellows over two 60-day periods (fall 2018-spring 2019).
- The control period involved standard patient encounter tracking without business cards.
- The intervention period involved trainees distributing business cards, followed by encounter tracking and HCAHPS survey analysis.
Main Results:
- HCAHPS survey return rates increased from 11.1% (80/721 encounters) in the control period to 19.1% (97/508 encounters) during the business card period.
- Qualitative feedback was provided in 51.3% of surveys during the control period and 53.6% during the business card period.
- No fellow-specific feedback was received in either period, and business cards did not impact patient satisfaction scores.
Conclusions:
- Business card distribution significantly improved HCAHPS survey return rates but did not enhance feedback quality or trainee-specific insights.
- HCAHPS surveys, even with business card intervention, are not currently effective for providing direct feedback to medical trainees.
- There is a need for improved methods to relay patient communication to ancillary staff and medical education programs.
Abstract:
This project sought to evaluate if business card distribution improved the utility of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys by serving as a feedback mechanism for trainees. Between fall 2018 and spring 2019, patient encounters for 6 cardiovascular disease fellows were tracked over two 60-day periods. Six weeks were allowed for HCAHPS surveys to be returned. Business cards were subsequently deployed and encounters similarly tracked. During the control-group monitoring period, 721 patient encounters were logged and 80 (11.1%) surveys were returned. Qualitative feedback, in the form of free-response comments, was provided in 41 (51.3%) surveys. Business cards were then deployed and encounters similarly tracked. During the business card period, 508 patient encounters occurred and 97 (19.1%) surveys were returned. Qualitative feedback was provided in 52 (53.6%) surveys. No fellow-specific feedback was returned in either group. Business card use by trainees was associated with an improved rate of survey return, from 11.1% to 19.1%, but no effect on feedback to fellows or patient satisfaction scores was found. HCAHPS surveys were not useful in providing trainees with feedback. Immediate verbal feedback from patients via ancillary staff was observed. A method of relaying communication from patients to ancillary staff and medical education programs is needed.