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Table 3 Impacts of PE on hospitals, clinicians/staff and patients/family

From: Impacts of patient and family engagement in hospital planning and improvement: qualitative interviews with patient/family advisors and hospital staff

Theme

Sub-theme

Exemplar quote

Articulated by:

Patients/Family

PE Managers

Clinicians

Hospital structures and resources

New or improved hospital policies and strategic plans

At times, we have to put males and females together in rooms when hospital occupancy is high… So we created policies and information to share with patients around that (001 PE manager <100)

We’ve also engaged patient and family feedback through our surveys and our patient relations data because we get some great level of data and information that we can leverage to build our quality improvement plan every year (032 corporate executive 100+)

X

X

X

New or improved facilities, programs and services

We had an issue where the public phone was in a bad place. So we just brought it forth and it was changed. It was put in a better area (002 patient/family <100)

I think the impact was that people actually did get healthier food (003 patient/family teaching)

For sure there was a lot more consistency in terms of the services that were provided and the level of service as well as the kind of service provided (021 clinician 100+)

So we were a pilot site for the Bundle Care Program … They [patient/family advisors] were helping to inform what then became our future state pathway which we have really continued to enact today (025 clinician 100+)

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X

Resources for patients/family (e.g. discharge information, educational material)

We have seen a significant improvement in the clarity of the consent letters that our patients are being asked to sign to be part of a research project (017 patient/family 100+)

It [discharge information sheets] was successful with the emergency department. So anything that can support your education upon discharge from the hospital will prevent hopefully any unnecessary visits; certainly support on-going quality improvement to the care you can provide at home (027 PE manager <100)

The resources were utilized… feedback from our social workers who were meeting with clients regularly who had that exposure to those resources [psycho-education material] in the waiting room said that they thought it was great to have those resources available to them while they were waiting (034 clinician 100+)

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X

X

Clinician or staff functions and processes

Greater work enjoyment

We found that the charge nurses and also the nursing staff were able to achieve a bit more joy in their work (024 PE manager 100+)

X

X

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Satisfaction with new or improved facilities, programs or services

I think they [staff] were very happy… So I think they were welcoming that change (013 patient/family 100+)

Increased [staff] satisfaction that patients are having somebody to engage with versus just in their rooms when they’re attending with other patients (037 clinician <100)

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X

X

Greater ease in fulfilling job requirements

It makes their [staff] job easier (013 patient/family 100+)

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X

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Greater efficiency in healthcare delivery

So the staff would say that it’s a very efficient way, a more efficient way to do their care and that they are getting just as good outcomes with this change in model (025 clinician 100+)

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X

Greater confidence in information they provided to patients

They [staff] would also feel more confident in the information that they’re giving out to patients and families; that there would perhaps be an increased understanding (027 PE manager <100)

X

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Improved patient-staff communication

The process was designed to improve communication and to allow much, much better access to the physician group or the residents, and to allied health people because they were on the floor. It really improved communication (007 patient/family teaching)

We also surveyed both doctors and nurses … there had been a substantial improvement in the efficiency and quality of communication with patients… nurses have said, we get less questions from families now (012 clinician teaching)

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X

X

Patient experience

Reassurance that hospital addresses what matters to patients

I think it was reassuring for them [patients] to know that what they felt and what mattered to them in their care was going to be captured and was going to be rolled out with staff and form the basis of what their care would look like. And so I think for patients it was very reassuring; that their needs were being taken very seriously (015 patient/family teaching)

Patients knew] that staff at the hospital were listening to what really mattered to them and humanizing them (015 patient/family teaching)

X

X

X

Increased satisfaction with facilities, programs and services

And it’s a substantial supper and a lighter lunch and inpatients seem to be very pleased with the transition (002 patient/family <100)

So the patient satisfaction increases greatly from this [post-discharge contact program] (031 clinician 100+)

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X

Improved healthcare experience

Patients would say that their experiences are better following the changes that were made (025 clinician 100+)

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X

X

Greater understanding of hospital instructions (due to new/ improved resources)

So I think it [patient admission handbook] had a significant impact on patient admission as far as preparation and simplifying the process somewhat for the hospital; people are going in prepared with some knowledge (023 patient/family 100+)

The discharge information sheets improved understanding for our patients and families… we could see how it provided clarity for the patient (027 PE manager <100)

X

X

X

Patient outcomes

Decreased wait times

So there’s been a significant reduction in the number of wait time hours between the Emergency Department to in-patient units (011 PE manager 100+)

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X

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Decreased falls

Decreased risk for falls; we did see a decrease in falls (037 clinician <100)

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X

Decreased readmissions

I’d say, we also saw a reduction in patient readmission rates as well (021 clinician 100+)

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X

Increased safety

They’re rolling out elements of the model of care … So they’re spreading it unit by unit improving quality, safety, patient experience (011 PE manager 100+)

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X

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