Serious Experience Events: Applying Patient Safety Concepts to Improve Patient Experience

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Experience
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Pediatric healthcare systems have enhanced patient safety through standardized Serious Safety Events (SSEs).
• A gap exists in systematically addressing severely compromised patient experiences.
• Patient safety principles can be adapted to improve patient experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define Serious Experience Events (SEEs).
• To describe the infrastructure for evaluating potential SEEs.
• To outline the creation of action plans for SEEs and share preliminary experiences.

Main Methods:

• Adopting patient safety concepts and infrastructure.
• Developing standardized definitions for SEEs.
• Establishing processes for identifying and evaluating potential SEEs.

Main Results:

• Preliminary framework for identifying and evaluating SEEs established.
• Action plans initiated to mitigate SEEs.
• Infrastructure adapted from SSEs proves effective for SEEs.

Conclusions:

• The SEE framework offers a structured approach to improving patient experience.
• Adapting SSE infrastructure is a viable strategy for addressing patient experience issues.
• Further research and implementation are needed to validate SEE mitigation strategies.