Brigham and Women’s Hospital is committed to providing patients and their families with the best care experience possible. We recognize that this involves going beyond providing the highest quality medical care and outcomes.
That’s why we ask our patients to tell us about their total care experience – from the attentiveness of our nursing and physician staff to the cleanliness of the rooms – and then we use that feedback to continuously improve every aspect of our care.
Our patient surveys include:
- Inpatient Satisfaction Survey
- HCAHPS Survey
- Ambulatory Satisfaction Survey
Improving Our Patient Satisfaction
The patient and family satisfaction scores at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are consistently well above state and national averages, but we’re not satisfied with simply being better than average. We continue to identify opportunities for improving the patient and family experience.
With input and guidance from more than 300 staff members and physicians, we have:
- Created an overarching Patient and Family-Centered Care Advisory Group committed to identifying opportunities for improving the patient and family experience at BWH
- Ensured that patient and family advisors have been included as members of key hospital committees and focus groups
- Developed a local advisory group, NICU Parent Advisory, and are working on creating other local groups
- Developed a “Connecting with Care” training program to prepare staff for increased family presence and involvement
- Established a Patient and Family Relations team to address any patient or family concerns
Creating a Hospital Environment that Supports Healing
A critical part of a satisfactory hospital experience is a comfortable environment. Here are some of our recent environment improvement initiatives to enhance patient satisfaction:
- Private rooms:
- All rooms in the Shapiro Cardiovascular Center (ICU and non-ICU) are private with a dedicated family zone to ensure comfort and privacy for patients and their family members
- Private rooms, with sleeping accommodations for a family member, added in obstetrics
- Established room service for every patient
- Upgraded television system – installed flat-panel TVs and expanded programming options, including on-demand patient education programs
- Created two patient and family centers, one of which includes the Kessler Health Education Library
Improvements to Processes that Support Care
We’ve also incorporated process changes to increase our patients’ satisfaction:
- Upgraded nurse call system, which has led to quicker responses to patient calls
- Prioritized discharge transportation system to improve patient experience
- Established process to ensure that simple room repairs are done as quickly as possible
