Hospital Hint: Talking with Patient Experience
Sometimes communication with Patient Experience starts with a hospital survey or a hotline for customer suggestions or complaints, but if you want to provide constructive feedback directly to an individual whose job it is to listen to that feedback, the Patient Experience staff members are hired to do just that. I was told by the head of Patient Experience that the suggestions we make can be sent to those who oversee the relevant department, but whether the suggestions lead to any true, lasting change remains to be seen.
After a survey I filled out related to an incomplete initial triage exam where the original provider did not even look at my mom’s skin infection which was the presenting condition, followed by a 10 hour wait in the ED waiting room with my mom, followed by being sent home by the ED providers immediately without treatment, I received a phone call essentially explaining why they will not be taking any of my suggestions. I had suggested that the provider who initially examined my mom let her know that it’s unlikely that the doctors will see her wound as something that needs to be treated outside of the outpatient setting and to be given the option of waiting 10 hours in the ED for an attending physician to send you home, or of signing one’s self out (after hearing that you probably will not receive treatment) and stating you are willing to follow up outpatient. It would be great if someone there would even get you scheduled with outpatient on your way out. I truly wonder if it was worth it to fill out the survey and I am disappointed by how much time I spent on the phone calls to then ultimately receive the gently dismissive feedback. If you’re filling out the survey to vent, you might get a call where you feel listened to. If you’re calling to seek change, the survey did not lead to much in our experience. Has a feedback survey led to any changes in your experience?
From making two lengthy calls to the feedback hotline of our closest hospital I learned that entry-level employees are answering these calls and tend to say things at the end of the call that imply that the reason you called was just to vent. I like to ask my children and my clients, “Are we venting or solving?” when they share a concern with me. From the feedback hotline, I got a very strong “venting but not solving” vibe. Hopefully some of what I said at least leads to some conversations between the powers that be, but it seems that it’s more about herding the venting to one place where it can feel seen and heard and tidily dismissed and forgotten. Have you found this to be the case when you call the feedback hotline? I wonder what it looks like when the feedback data is entered into the computer and is elevated to each department. Does it resemble what the patient or family member said or does it lose meaning steadily as it is whispered down the alley?
I had the best experience thus far speaking directly with patient experience representatives. They certainly make you feel seen and heard and they tell you where they plan to escalate your feedback to and what they plan to do. Sadly, even two hours meeting in person with the head of Patient Experience, and a number of phone calls, did not seem to lead to any real meaningful results even after 7 months of repeat admissions and a surgeon’s error. However, these individuals do seem to try and occasionally when they seek out information, you get a few, but don’t bother looking for anything clinical from them or any significant direct communication with the medical or surgical team. They can find you some resources and pass along your comments, but as far as any real power to make changes, it does not seem so. I also wonder which one of the many things I said did they choose to pass along? I urge you to ask for clarification on what they are passing on and what they are not.
Sandwiched Support 